ntatnwtional  Jfatwtial 


ME.  RUGGLES'  REPORTS. 


REPORTS 


SAMUEL  B.  RUGGLES, 


DELEGATE  TO  THE 


[ 

international  Statistical  Congress, 


AT     BERLIN, 


ON  THE 


RESOURCES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


AND   ON    A 


UNIFORM  SYSTEM  OF  WEIGHTS,  MEASURES  AND  COINS. 


FEINTED  BY  ORDER  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY, 
BY  J.  B.  CUSHMAN,  CLEBK. 


ALBANY: 

WEED,    PARSONS   &   COMPANY,    PRINTERS. 
1864. 


STATE  OF  NEW  YORK. 

IN  ASSEMBLY. 

ALBANY,  April  2,  1864. 
On  motion  of  Mr.  A.  X.  PARKER, 

Resolved,  That  ten  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Hon.  SAMUEL  B.  RUGGLES  to  the  International 
Statistical  Congress,  at  Berlin,  for  1863,  and  ten  copies  of  the  Report  to  the  Secretary  of 
State,  in  respect  to  uniform  weights,  measures  and  coins,  be  procured  by  the  clerk  for  each 
member,  officer  and  reporter  of  the  Assembly. 

By  order, 

J.  B.  CUSHMAN,  Clerk. 


REPORT 


TO    THE 


INTERNATIONAL  STATISTICAL  CONGRESS, 


BY  SAMUEL  B.  KUGGLES, 


ON  THE 


RESOURCES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES; 


THE  ACCOMPANYING  COMMUNICATION  TO  THE  STATE  DEPARTMENT. 

SEPTEMBER    14,   1863. 


REPORT. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,         ) 
WASHINGTON,  January  18, 1864. ) 

I  transmit  to  the  Senate,  in  answer  to  their  resolution  of  the 
14th  instant,  a  copy  of  the  report  on  the  resources  of  the  United 
States,  presented  to  the  International  Statistical  Congress  at 
Berlin,  in  September  last,  by  the  Hon.  Samuel  B.  Euggles, 
together  with  a  copy  of  his  letter  to  the  Department  of  State, 

transmitting  the  report. 

WILLIAM  H.  SEWAED. 

The  SENATE  of  the  United  States. 


Mr.  Euggles  to  Mr.  Seward. 

BERLIN,  September  14,  1863. 

SIR:  Li  pursuance  of  your  instructions  accompanying  the 
appointment  of  the  undersigned  as  representative  of  the  United 
States  of  America  at  the  International  Statistical  Congress  at 
Berlin,  in  September  instant,  he  embarked  for  Europe  in  the 
first  German  steamer  after  receiving  his  commission,  and  reached 

Berlin,  after  some  detention  on  the  Atlantic,  on  the  afternoon 

_ 

of  the  6th  of  September.  No  business  of  importance  had  been 
transacted  in  the  Congress  up  to  that  time,  except  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  credentials  of  the  delegates. 

M180836 


8 

On  the  ?th  of  September,  the  credentials  of  the  undersigned 
were  presented  and  approved,  at  which  time  representatives  from 
the  following  countries,  stated  in  alphabetical  order,  had  been 
duly  admitted,  viz. 

The  United  States  of  America ;  Anhalt-Dessau ;  Austria ;  Baden ; 
Bavaria;  Belgium;  the  Danubian  Provinces;  Denmark;  France; 
Frankfort;  Great  Britain;  Hamburg;  Hanover;  Holland;  Holstein; 
Hesse-Cassel;  Hesse-Darmstadt;  Italy;  Lubeck;  Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin;  Norway;  Oldenburg;  Portugal;  Prussia;  Eussia;  Saxe- 
Coburg;  Saxe- Weimar;  Saxony;  Spain;  Sweden;  Switzerland; 
Turkey;  and  Wirtemberg. 

The  representatives  of  most  of  the  nations  above  specified 
made  reports  to  the  Congress  on  the  statistics  of  their  respective 
countries,  which  will  be  duly  published  in  German  and  in  French, 
in  the  official  proceedings  or  "Compte  Rendu"  of  the  Congress. 
In  general,  the  proceedings  and  debates  were  in  the  German 
language,  but  to  some  extent  in  French  and  English. 

Through  some  accidental  and  unintentional  omission,  none  of 
the  States  of  South  America,  or  of  Central  America,  sent 
delegates  to  the  Congress,  although  Brazil,  especially,  had 
been  represented  in  preceding  sessions  of  the  Congress.  The 
name  of  the  undersigned  was  erroneously  entered  in  the 
printed  and  published  lists  as  delegate  from  "North  America," 

but  on  his  application  the  error  will  be  corrected  in  the  official 

t 
report  of  the  proceedings. 

On  Friday,  the  llth  of  September,  being  the  sixth  day  of  the 
session,  a  statistical  report  was  presented  to  the  Congress  by 
the  undersigned,  in  behalf  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
of  which  a  copy  is  herewith  transmitted. 

It  is  proper  to  state  that  the  composition  and  character  of 
the  Congress,  as  shown  by  its  proceedings  and  published  reports 
at  the  preceding  sessions,  were  merely  "statistical,"  and  in  no 
respect  economical  or  political,  rendering  it  proper  and  necessary 


9 

to  refrain  in  the  report  from  any  speculations  or  deductions 
as  to  the  practical  use  or  employment  of  the  resources  to  be 
statistically  exhibited,  or  any  political  discussion  of  the  charac- 
ter, conduct'  or  possible  result  of  the  pending  insurrection 
against  the  Government  of  the  American  Union ;  but  rather  to 
present  the  cardinal  elements  of  its  material  strength  and 
resources,  past  and  present,  in  such  arithmetical  and  statistical 
form  as  should  furnish,  of  itself,  to  the  Congress,  and  the 
countries  therein  represented,  sufficient  elements  for  any  neces- 
sary conclusions. 

Again,  it  was  desirable  and  necessary,  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  the  publication  and  circulation,  to  any  considerable 
extent,  of  such  a  statement,  to  condense  the  facts  as  far  as 
practicable,  to  select  only  the  most  prominent,  and  to  seek, 
by  a  well-defined  outline,  to  present  the  subject  clearly  and 
distinctly. 

Keeping  these  considerations  in  view,  the  report  was  there- 
fore confined  mainly  to  the  four  cardinal  elements  of  our 
national  strength,  embraced  under  the  heads — Territory;  Popu- 
lation; Agricultural  Production;  and  Precious  Metals.  It  is 
not  denied  that  other  branches,  though  comparatively  less 
important,  might  have  been  added;  but  under  the  circum- 
stances, those  presented  were  thought  sufficient  for  the  purpose. 

In  view  of  the  insurrection  still  affecting  the  industry  and 
products  of  a  certain  portion  of  the  Union,  and  rendering  it 
difficult  to  state  or  estimate  their  present  value  with  any 
statistical  accuracy,  they  were  not  embraced  in  the  report  to 
the  present  Congress,  under  the  belief  that  the  full  restoration 
of  tranquillity  before  the  next  session,  in  1865,  will  then 
enable  the  representative  of  the  United  States  to  fully  supply 
the  deficiency. 

The  present  session  has  been  signalized  by  the  adoption  of 

important  resolutions  in  respect  to  a  uniform  system  of  weights, 
2 


10 

measures  and  coins,  for  the  use  of  the  civilized  world,  and 
materially  affecting  the  United  States  of  America.  A  large 
Commission,  embracing  representatives  of  high  attainments, 
from  fourteen  different  nations  and  countries,  was  instituted 
at  the  Congress  of  1860,  held  in  London,  to  report  a  system 
for  consideration  at  the  present  session.  The  undersigned,  on 
taking  his  seat  in  the  body,  was  invited,  in  behalf  of  the 
United  States,  to  confer  and  unite  with  that  Commission  in 
its  proposed  and  forthcoming  report.  A  draft  of  that  report 
had  been  printed,  presenting,  in  review,  the  different  nations 
which  had  adopted,  or  were  disposed  to  adopt,  the  metric 
system  of  weights  and  measures,  but  in  which  it  was  stated 
that  "the  Confederate  States  of  America  have  expressed  a  desire 
to  introduce  the  metric  system  of  weights  and  measures." 
The  undersigned,  on  perceiving  the  statement,  protested  at 
once  against  its  propriety,  or  its  admission  into  the  report, 
on  the  ground  that  the  "Confederate  States,"  so  called,  had 
no  separate,  national,  lawful  existence,  but  still  formed 
integral  portions  of  the  United  States  of  America.  The 
objection  was  acquiesced  in,  and  the  words  in  question  were 
modified  so  as  to  read,  "Some  of  the  States  of  America 
have  expressed  a  desire,"  &c.,  &c.  The  statement  is  known 
to  be  true  in  respect  to  some  of  the  States  of  South  America, 
and  possibly  as  to  some  of  the  States  of  our  American  Union. 

The  proposition  presented  by  that  Commission  to  the  Congress 
in  respect  to  weights,  measures  and  coins,  looking  to  an 
eventual  change  in  the  weight  of  the  British  sovereign  and 
of  the  American  dollar  to  reduce  them  to  even  multiples  of 
the  franc,  with  the  modifications  which  these  propositions 
underwent  in  the  Congress,  are  of  so  much  importance  and 
gravity  that  the  undersigned  will  require  some  little  time  for 
reporting  them  fully,  with  the  necessary  accompanying  docu- 
ments, to  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  He  will 


11 

seek  to  do  so,  with  all  practicable  dispatch,  after  his  return  to 
America.  The  subject  necessarily  embraces  the  grave  and 
difficult  question  of  the  relative  value  of  gold  and  silver, 
present  and  prospective,  and  the  proper  adjustment  of  the 
coins  of  both  metals,  to  keep  pace  with  the  fluctuations  in 
their  production  and  supply.  For  this  purpose,  the  undersigned 
thought  it  necessary  to  propose,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  report 
on  the  metalliferous  regions  of  the  United  States,  that  the 
subject  of  the  production  of  gold  and  silver  should  be  investi- 
gated by  a  Commission  to  be  instituted  by  the  International 
Statistical  Congress;  but  on  a  full  consideration  by  the  Section 
to  which  the  subject  was  referred,  it  was  decided,  and  perhaps 
properly,  that  the  investigation  could  not  be  properly  made 
by  the  Congress,  which  was  statistical  and  not  economical  in 
its  aims,  and  that  the  necessary  inquiry  might  better  be  left 
to  the  governments  of  the  three  great  gold-producing  countries, 
being  the  United  States;  Great  Britain  in  respect  to  Australia, 
New  Zealand  and  British  America;  and  Eussia;  and  more 
especially  as  the  inquiry,  to  be  of  any  practical  value,  must 
be  conducted  under  the  authority  and  direction  of  those 
respective  governments.  Meanwhile,  the  decided  opinion  has 
been  expressed  by  the  delegates  in  the  present  Congress  from 
Gre^at  Britain  and  from  Eussia,  that  the  necessary  inquiries  on 
a  subject  so  important  to  the  currency  of  the  world,  will  be 
prosecuted  by  those  governments  with  all  proper  efficiency 
and  dispatch. 

During  the  session  of  the  present  Congress,  a  resolution  was 
passed,  on  motion  of  Professor  Schubert,  of  the  University  of 
Konigsburgh,  that  it  was  "advisable,  and  very  useful  to  the 
general  interests  of  statistical  science,  that  of  all  official  works 
and  communications  published  by  statistical  bureaus,  one  copy 
shall  be  given  to  all  the  universities  and  high  academies  of 
the  states  of  Europe,  to  be  preserved  in  their  libraries."  A 


12 


motion  made  by  the  undersigned,  at  a  subsequent  day,  and 
seconded  by  Professor  Schubert,  was  unanimously  passed  by 
the  Congress,  that  the  resolution  be  modified  and  enlarged 
"so  as  to  include  the  public  libraries  in  six  of  the  principal 
cities  of  the  United  States  of  America,  to  be  designated  by 
the  State  Department  at  Washington." 

The  Congress  adjourned  on  the  llth  of  September,  after 
having  received  the  marked  hospitality  and  consideration  of 
the  government  of  Prussia,  and  of  the  inhabitants  of  Berlin. 

Of  the  period  of  thirty  days  after  the  adjournment  allowed 
to  the  undersigned  for  returning  to  the  United  States,  he  will 
employ  the  first  two  weeks  in  visiting  Eussia,  to  collect  the 
statistics  of  the  product  of  gold  in  that  country; — for  which 
purpose  the  representatives  of  that  government  in  the  Congress, 
and  also  the  Eussian  Minister  at  Berlin,  have  courteously 
afforded  him  important  facilities. 

The  undersigned  has  the  honor  to  remain,  with  high  respect, 
your  obedient  servant, 

SAMUEL  B.  EUGGLES. 

His  Excellency  WILLIAM  H.  SEWAED, 

Secretary  of  State,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 


International  Statistical  Congress  at  Berlin. 

VI.    SESSION. 


SIXTH    ID-A.-S-'S    SESSION. 

SEPTEMBER  llth,  1863. 

REPORT  FROM  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


ME.  SAMUEL  B.  BUGGLES,  Delegate  from  the  United  States  of 
America,  presented  the  following  Eeport : 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the 

International  Statistical  Congress: 

The  Government  of  Prussia  having  specially  requested,  through 
its  Minister  at  Washington,  his  Excellency  the  Baron  Gerolt,  that 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  America  should  send  a 
representative  to  the  International  Statistical  Congress  to  con- 
vene at  Berlin  on  the  6th  of  September,  1863,  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  on  the  14th  of  August,  appointed  the 
undersigned  to  that  office.  The  session  of  the  Congress  being 
so  near  at  hand,  the  undersigned  was  necessarily  obliged  to 
embark  for  Europe  without  delay,  and  was  thus  prevented 
from  collecting,  in  due  season,  as  large  a  portion  as  could 


14 

have  been  desired,  of  the  numerous  documents  and  publica- 
tions illustrating  the  statistics  of  the  United  States.  Much 
important  information,  though  often  wanting  in  classification 
and  arrangement,  is  embraced  in  various  official  papers  issued 
under  public  authority,  both  National  and  State,  and  also  by 
Boards  of  Trade  and  other  voluntary  societies  whose  labors 
are  more  or  less  statistical.  Attempts  have  been  made  to 
impart  to  American  statistics  more  of  an  analytical  and 
scientific  character,  by  means  of  official  Bureaux  to  be  spe- 
cially organized  for  the  purpose.  The  State  of  Ohio,  some 
years  since,  under  the  administration  of  Governor  Chase,  the 
present  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  estab- 
lished a  Bureau  of  Statistics,  as  one  of  the  organs  of  the 
State  government,  which  was  committed  to  the  charge  of 
Mr.  Mansfield,  whose  copious  and  instructive  Annual  Eeports, 
fully  justify  the  selection:  while  far  away,  in  the  remote 
interior,  beyond  the  great  chain  of  Lakes,  the  infant  State 
of  Minnesota,  with  a  single  exception  the  youngest  in  the 
American  Union,  containing,  by  the  census  of  1860,  but  173,000 
inhabitants  clustered  around  the  head  waters  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi,  and  more  than  fifteen  hundred  miles  from  the 
Atlantic,  established,  almost  at  the  moment  of  its  birth,  a 
Bureau  of  Statistics.  Two  of  the  Annual  Eeports  of  its 
able  Commissioner  of  Statistics,  Mr.  Wheelock,  are  now  sub- 
mitted to  the  inspection  of  the  International  Statistical 
Congress,  as  affording  reasonable  ground  of  hope,  that,  in 
due  time,  America  may  at  least  approach  in  scientific  accuracy 
and  philosophical  arrangement,  the  more  mature  and  perfect 
performances  of  the  statisticians  of  Europe. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  has  not  yet  established 
a  distinct  Bureau  of  Statistics,  although  repeatedly  recom- 
mended and  urged  to  do  so;  but  in  taking  the  census  of 
inhabitants,  required  by  the  National  Constitution  at  intervals 


15 

not  exceeding  ten  years,  the  practice  has  been  gradually 
introduced  of  superadding,  by  special  direction  of  Congress, 
inquiries,  more  or  less  extensive,  in  regard  to  various  branches 
of  industry  and  production,  and  recently  embracing  social 
statistics  to  a  moderate  extent — so  that  the  compend  of  the 
census  of  1860,  herewith  submitted  to  the  International  Statis- 
tical Congress,  will  be  found  to  contain  a  considerable  mass 
of  statistical  information  illustrating  the  material  and,  to 
some  extent,  the  social  and  moral  condition  of  the  nation. 
Under  the  limited  powers  conferred  by  Congress,  the  active 
and  inteljigent  officers  who  have  successively  filled  the  office 
of  Superintendent,  and  particularly  Mr.  Kennedy,  who  partici- 
pated in  one  or  more  of  the  previous  sessions  of  the  International 
Statistical  Congress,  have  earnestly  exerted  their  best  efforts 
to  render  the  inquiries  authorized  by  law,  useful  not  only  to 
the  country,  but  to  the  cause  of  statistical  science.  It  is 
confidently  believed  that  the  enlightened  labors  of  the  present 
body,  may  do  much  to  induce  the  legislative  authorities  of 
the  United  States  to  recognize  a  competent  Bureau  of  Statistics 
as  a  national  necessity,  and  thereby  place  their  country  on 
an  equality,  in  that  respect,  with  the  most  intelligent  nations 
of  the  world. 

Even  then,  some  time  must  elapse,  before  it  will  fully  attain 
that  power  of  acute,  comprehensive  and  thorough  analysis  in 
the  various  branches  of  statistical  inquiry,  which  has  so  dis- 
tinguished the  eminent  European  statisticians,  in  their  valuable 
labors  in  the  International  Statistical  Congress  during  the  present 
and  the  preceding  sessions. 

It  is  cause  for  general  congratulation  that  those  who  conduct 
the  public  affairs  of  nations  have  become  generally  convinced, 
that  a  State  cannot  be  wisely  or  safely  governed,  without  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  quantities.  Abstract  theories  and  his- 
torical traditions  doubtless  have  their  use  and  their  proper 


16 

place,  but  statistics  are  the  very  eyes  of  the  statesman, 
enabling  him  to  survey  and  scan  with  clear  but  comprehensive 
vision,  the  whole  structure  and  economy  of  the  body  politic — 
to  adjust,  in  finest  harmony  all  its  varied  functions — to  regulate 
and  invigorate  the  healthful  circulation  of  every  artery  and 
vein,  from  the  central,  vital  trunk  to  the  most  remote  and 
delicate  articulation. 

Not  only  so.  In  this  modern  world  where  steam  has  abolished 
space,  the  statesman,  to  deserve  the  name,  must  carefully 
survey  the  statistics  of  all  the  nations  that  commerce  can 
approach,  so  that  with  nice  and  skillful  hand,  he  may  adapt 
the  administration  of  his  particular  government  to  the  due 
measure  of  its  comparative  capacities  and  powers. 

It  is  under  the  conviction,  that  this  new-born,  modern 
"solidarity  of  nations"  renders  the  statistics  of  each  important 
to  all,  that  the  undersigned,  in  behalf  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  now  ventures  briefly  to  invite  the  attention  of 
the  International  Statistical  Congress,  to  some  of  the  most 
prominent  features  exhibited  by  the  compend  of  the  census 
of  1860,  now  before  this  body,  and  especially  to  the  evidence 
which  it  furnishes,  of  the  rate  and  extent  of  material  progress 
of  the  human  race  in  that  portion  of  the  New  World,  com- 
mitted by  Providence  to  the  care  of  the  American  Union. 
The  exhibition  will  certainly  furnish  to  some  extent  the  means 
of  statistical  comparison  with  other  portions  of  the  world, 
and  thereby  enable  the  International  Statistical  Congress,  in 
due  time,  to  discharge  what  may  become  a  very  important 
and  world-wide  duty,  in  classifying  the  results  from  the  reports 
of  individual  countries,  and  thus  to  present  in  scientific  form 
the  prominent  and  distinctive  features  of  the  comparative 
anatomy  of  nations. 

Nor  is  it  to  be  feared  that  such  a  classification  or  comparison 
could  ever  be  deemed  useless  or  invidious.  On  this  point  the 


17 

present  body  fortunately  is  able  to  refer  to  the  highest 
authority.  The  impressive  words,  in  the  opening  address  of 
the  late  Prince  Albert, — who  deemed  it  no  derogation  from 
his  eminent  rank  as  the  royal  consort  of  the  British  Sovereign, 
to  preside  personally  over  your  deliberations,  and  whose 
untimely  death  is  mourned  in  both  hemispheres  as  a  loss  to 
the  human  race, — now  come  to  us  with  solemn  earnestness. 

In  the  noble  language  of  that  truly  exalted  Prince,  such 
comparisons  will  only  "prove  to  us  afresh  in  figures,  what 
"we  know  already  from  feeling  and  experience — how  depend- 
"ent  the  different  nations  are  upon  each  other,  for  their 
"progress — for 'their  moral  and  material  prosperity — and  that 
"the  essential  condition  of  their  mutual  happiness,  is  the 
"maintenance  of  peace  and  good  will  among  each  other.  Let 
"them  then  be  rivals,  but  rivals  in  the  noble  race  of  social 
"improvement,  in  which,  although  it  may  be  the  lot  of  one 
"to  arrive  first  at  the  goal,  yet  all  will  equally  share  the 
"prize — all  feeling  their  own  powers  and  strength  increase  in 
"  the  healthy  competition." 


The  Compend  of  the  census  of  1860,  and  other  official  docu- 
ments now  submitted  to  the  International  Statistical  Congress, 
will  establish  the  following  cardinal  facts,  in  respect  to  the  terri- 
tory, population,  and  progress  in  material  wealth  of  the  United 
States  of  America : 

I.  The  territorial  area  of  the  United  States,  at  the  peace  of  1783, 
then  bounded  west  by  the  Mississippi  river,  was  820,680  square 
miles,  about  four  times  that  of  France,  which  is  stated  to  be 
207,145  exclusive  of  Algeria.  The  purchase  from  France  of  Lou- 
isiana, in  1804,  added  to  this  area  899,680  square  miles.  Purchases 
from  Spain  and  from  Mexico,  and  the  Oregon  treaty  with  Eng- 


18 

land,  added  the  further  quantity  of  1,215,907  square  miles;  making 
the  total  present  territory  2,936,166  square  miles,  or  1,879,146,240 
acres. 

Of  this  immense  area,  possessing  a  great  variety  of  climate  and 
culture,  so  large  a  portion  is  fertile,  that  it  has  been  steadily 
absorbed  by  the  rapidly  increasing  population.  In  May  last,  there 
remained  undisposed  of  and  belonging  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  964,901,625  acres. 

To  prevent  any  confusion  of  boundaries,  the  lands  are  carefully 
surveyed  and  allotted  by  the  Government,  and  are  then  granted 
gratuitously  to  actual  settlers,  or  sold  for  prices  not  exceeding  a 
dollar  and  a  quarter  per  acre  to  purchasers  other  than  settlers.  It 
appears  by  the  Eeport  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office,  a  copy  of  which  is  herewith  furnished,  that  the  quantity 
surveyed  and  ready  for  sale,  in  September,  1862,  was  135,142,999 
acres.  The  Eeport  also  states,  that  the  recent  discoveries  of  rich 
and  extensive  gold  fields  in  some  of  the  unsurveyed  portions,  are 
rapidly  filling  the  interior  with  a  population  whose  necessities 
require  the  speedy  survey  and  disposition  of  large  additional  tracts. 
The  immediate  survey  is  not,  however,  of  vital  importance,  as  the 
first  occupant  practically  gains  the  pre-emptive  claim  to  the  land 
after  the  survey  is  completed.  The  cardinal,  the  great  continental 
fact,  so  to  speak,  is  this,  that  the  whole  of  this  vast  body  of  land 
is  freely  open  to  gratuitous  occupation,  without  delay  or  difficulty 
of  any  kind. 

II.  The  population  of  the  United  States,  as  shown  by  the  Census 
of  1860,  was  31,445,080,  of  which  number  26,975,575  were  white, 
and  4,441,766  black,  of  various  degrees  of  color — of  the  blacks 
3,953,760  being  returned  as  slaves.  Whether  any,  or  what  propor- 
tion, of  the  number  are  hereafter  to  be  statistically  considered 
as  "  Slaves"  depends  upon  contingencies,  which  it  would  be  prema- 
ture at  the  present  time  to  discuss. 


19 

The  increase  of  population  since  the  establishment  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, has  been  as  follows : 

1790,  3,929,827 

1800,  5,305,937  increase  35.02  per  cent. 

1810,  7,239,814 "  36.45 

1820,  9,638,191  i  "  33.13 

1830,12,866,020  "  33.49       " 

1840,  17,069,453  "  32.67 

1850,  23,191,876 "  35.87 

1860,  31,445,080 "  35.59 

This  rate  of  progress,  especially  since  1820,  is  owing,  in  part,  to 
immigration  from  foreign  countries. 

There  arrived  in  the  10  years : 

From  1820  to  1830, 244,490 

"     1830tol840, 552,000 

"      1840tol850, 1,558,300 

"     1850  to  1860,  .  .  2,  707,  624 


Total, r 5,062,414 

being  a  yearly  average  of  126,560  for  the  forty  years,  and  270,762 
for  the  last  ten  years. 

The  disturbances  in  the  United  States,  caused  by  the  existing 
insurrection,  and  commencing  in  April,1861,  have  temporarily  and 
partially  checked  this  current  of  immigration,  but  during  the  pre- 
sent year  it  is  again  increasing. 

The  records  of  the  Commissioners  of  Emigration  of  New  York 
show  that  the  arrivals  at  that  port  alone  have  been — 

From  Ireland.    From  Germany.    Total,  including  all 
other  countries. 

1861, 27,754    27,159     65,529 

1862, , 32,217    27,740     76,306 

1863, 64,465    18,  724 about 98,  000 

(up  to  August  20th,  7  2-3  months.) 

The  proportions  of  the  whole  number  of  5,062,414  arriving  from 
foreign  countries,  in  the  forty  years  from  1820  to  1860,  were  as 
follows : 


20 

From  Ireland, 967, 366 

England, 302,665 

Scotland, 47,  800 

Wales, 7,935 

Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  .  1,  425,  018 

2,750,  784 

From  Germany, 1,  546,  976 

Sweden, 36,129 

Denmark  and  Norway, 5,  540 

1,  588, 145 

From  France, 208,  063 

Italy, 11,302 

Switzerland, 37,  732 

Spain, 16,245 

British  America, 117, 142 

China  ( in  California  almost 

exclusively ), 41, 443 

All  other  countries,  or  un- 
known,    291, 558 

723, 485 


5,  062,  414 

It  is  not  ascertainable  how  many  have  returned  to  foreign  coun- 
tries, but  they  probably  do  not  exceed  a  million. 

If  the  present  partial  check  to  immigration  should  continue, 
though  it  is  hardly  probable,  the  number  of  immigrants  for  the 
decade  ending  in  1870,  may  possibly  be  reduced  from  2,707,624  to 
1,500,000. 

The  ascertained  average  of  increase  of  the  whole  population  in 
the  seven  decades  from  1790  to  1860,  which  is  very  nearly  33J  per 
cent,  or  one-third  for  each  decade,  would  carry  the  present  num- 
bers,   31,445,080 

by  the  year  1870  to 41, 926,  750 

From  which  deduct  for  the  possible  diminution  of  im- 
migrants as  above, 1,  207,  624 


there  would  remain 40,  719, 126 


21 

Mr.  Kennedy,  the  experienced  Superintendent  of  the  Census, 
in  the  Compend,  published  in  1862,  at  page  7,  estimates  the  popu- 
lation of  1870,  at  42,318,432,  and  of  1880,  at  56,450,241. 

The  rate  of  progress  of  the  population  of  the  United  States  has 
much  exceeded  that  of  any  of  the  European  nations.  The  expe- 
rienced statisticians  in  the  present  Congress  can  readily  furnish 
the  figures  precisely  showing  the  comparative  rate. 

The  population  of  France  in 

1801  was 27,349,003 

1821     "    30,461,875 

1831     "    32,569,223 

1841      "    34,230,178 

1851     "    35,283,170 

1861      "    37,472,132 

being  about  37  per  cent  in  the  sixty  years.    It  does  not  include 
Algeria,  which  has  a  European  population  of  192,746. 

The  population  of  Prussia  has  increased,  since  1816,  as  follows : 

1816 10,319,993 

1822 11,  664, 133 

1834 13,038,970 

1840 14,928,503 

,     1849 16,296,483 

1858 17,672,609 

1861 18,491,220 

being  at  the  rate  of  79  per  cent  in  forty-five  years. 

The  population  of  England  and  Wales  was,  in 

1801 ^ 9,156,171 

1811 10,454,529 

1821 12,172,664 

1831 14,051,986 

1841 16,935,198 

1851 18,  054, 170 

1861 20,227,746 

showing  an  increase  of  121  per  cent  in  the  sixty  years,  against 
an  increase  in  the  United  States,  in  sixty  years,  of  593  per  cent. 


22 

m.  The  natural  and  inevitable  result  of  this  great  increase  of 
population,  enjoying  an  ample  supply  of  fertile  land,  is  seen  in  a 
corresponding  advance  in  the  material  wealth  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  For  the  purpose  of  State  taxation,  the  values  of 
their  real  and  personal  property  are  yearly  assessed  by  officers  ap- 
pointed by  the  States.  The  assessment  does  not  include  large 
amounts  of  property  held  by  religious,  educational,  charitable  and 
other  associations  exempted  by  law  from  taxation,  nor  any  public 
property  of  any  description.  In  actual  practice,  the  real  property 
is  rarely  assessed  for  more  than  two-thirds  of  its  cash  value,  while 
large  amounts  of  personal  property,  being  easily  concealed,  escape 
assessment  altogether. 

The  assessed  value  of  that  portion  of  property  which  is  thus 
actually  taxed,  increased  as  follows : 

In  1791  (estimated) $750,  000, 000 

1816  (estimated) 1,  800,  000,  000 

1850  official  valuation, 7, 135,  780,  228 

1860  do  16,159,616,068 

showing  an  increase  in  the  last  decade  alone  of  $9,023,835,840. 

A  question  has  been  raised,  in  some  quarters,  as  to  the  correct- 
ness of  these  valuations  of  1850  and  1860,  in  embracing  in  the 
valuation  of  1850  $961,000,000,  and  in  the  valuation  of  1860 
$1,936,000,000,  as  the  assessed  value  of  slaves, — insisting  that  black 
men  are  persons  and  not  property,  and  should  be  regarded,  like 
other  men,  only  as  producers  and  consumers.  If  this  view  of  the 
subject  should  be  admitted,  the  valuation  of  1850  would  be  reduced 

to $6,174,780,000 

and  that  of  1860  to. .  .  14, 223,  618,  068 


leaving  the  increase  in  the  decade $8,  048,  825,  840 

The  advance,  even  if  reduced  to  $8,048,825,840,  is  sufficiently 
large  to  require  the  most  attentive  examination.  It  is  an  increase 
of  property  over  the  valuation  of  1850  of  130  per  cent,  while  the 
increase  of  population  in  the  same  decade  was  but  35.59  per  cent. 


23 

In  seeking  for  the  cause  of  this  discrepancy,  we  shall  reach  a  fun- 
damental and  all  important  fact,  which  will  furnish  the  key  to  the 
past  and  to.  the  future  progress  of  the  United  States.  It  is  the 
power  they  possess,  by  means  of  canals  and  railways,  to  practi- 
cally abolish  the  distance  between  the  sea-board  and  the  wide- 
spread and  fertile  regions  of  the  interior,  thereby  removing  the 
clog  on  their  agricultural  industry,  and  virtually  placing  them  side 
by  side  with  the  communities  on  the  Atlantic.  During  the  decade 
ending  in  1860,  the  sum  of  $413,541,510  was  expended  within  the 
limits  of  the  interior  central  group  known  as  the  "food-exporting 
States,"  in  constructing  11,212  miles  of  railway,"to  connect  them 
with  the  sea-board.  The  traffic  receipts  from  those  roads  were : 

In  1860, $31,335,031 

«    1861, 35,305,509 

«   1862, 44,908,405 

The  saving  to  the  communities  themselves  in  the  transporta- 
tion, for  which  they  thus  paid  $44,908,405,  was  at  least  five  times 
that  amount,  while  the  increase  in  the  exports  from  that  portion 
of  the  Union,  greatly  animated  not  only  the  commerce  of  the 
Atlantic  States  carrying  those  exports  over  their  railways  to  the 
sea-board,  but  the  manufacturing  industry  of  the  Eastern  States, 
that  exchange  the  fabrics  of  their  workshops  for  the  food  of  the 
interior 

By  carefully  analyzing  the  $8,048,825,840,  in  question,  we  find 
that  the  six  manufacturing  States  of  New  England  received  $735,- 
754,244  of  the  amount :  that  the  middle  Atlantic  or  carrying  and 
commercial  States,  from  New  York  to  Maryland  inclusive,  re- 
ceived $1,834,911,579;  and  that  the  food-producing  interior  itself, 
embracing  the  eight  great  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michi- 
gan, Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  and  Missouri,  received  $2,810,- 
000,000.  This  very  large  accession  of  wealth  to  this  single  group 
of  States  is  sufficiently  important  to  be  stated  more  in  detail.  The 
group,  taken  as  a  whole,  extends  from  the  western  boundaries  of 


24 

New  York  and  Pennsylvania  to  the  Missouri  river,  through  four- 
teen degrees  of  longitude,  and  from  the  Ohio  river  north  to  the 
British  dominions,  through  twelve  degrees  of  latitude.  It  embraces 
an  area  of  441,167  square  miles,  or  282,134,688  acres,  nearly  all  of 
which  is  arable  and  exceedingly  fertile,  much  of  it  in  prairie  and 
ready  at  once  for  the  plough.  There  may  be  a  small  portion  adja- 
cent to  Lake  Superior  unfit  for  cultivation,  but  it  is  abundantly 
compensated  by  its  rich  deposits  of  copper  and  of  iron  of  the  best 
quality. 

Into  this  immense  natural  garden  in  a  salubrious  and  desirable 
portion  of  the  temperate  zone,  the  swelling  stream  of  population, 
from  the  older  Atlantic  States  and  from  Europe,  has  steadily 
flowed  during  the  last  decade,  increasing  its  previous  popula- 
tion from  5,403,595  to  8,957,690,  an  accession  of  3,554,095 
inhabitants  gained  by  the  peaceful  conquest  of  Nature,  fully 
equal  to  the  population  of  Silesia,  which  cost  Frederick  the 
Great  the  Seven  Years  War,  and  exceeding  that  of  Scotland, 
the  subject  of  struggle  for  centuries. 

The  rapid  influx  of  population  into  this  group  of  States 
increased  the  quantity  of  the  "  improved "  land,  thereby  mean- 
ing farms  more  or  less  cultivated,  within  their  limits,  from 
36,680,361  acres  in  1850  to  51,826,395  acres  in  1860,  but 
leaving  a  residue  yet  to  be  improved  of  230,308,203  acres. 
The  area  of  25,146,054  acres  thus  taken  in  ten  years  from 
the  prairie  and  the  forest,  is  equal  to  seven-eighths  of  the 
arable  area  of  England,  stated  by  its  political  economists 
to  be  28,000,000  of  acres. 

The  area  embraced  in  the  residue  will  permit  a  similar 
operation  to  be  repeated  eight  times  successively,  plainly 
demonstrating  the  capacity  of  this  group  of  States  to  expand 
their  present  population  of  8,957,690  to  at  least  thirty,  if  not 
forty  millions  of  inhabitants,  without  inconvenience. 


25 

The  effects  of  this  influx  of  population  in  increasing  the 
pecuniary  wealth,  as  well  as  the  agricultural  products  of  the 
States  in  question,  are  signally  manifest  in  the  census.  The 
assessed  value  of  their  real  and  personal  property,  ascended 
from  $1,116,000,000  in  1850,  to  3,926,000,000  in  1860,  showing 
a  clear  increase  of  $2,810,000,000.  We  can  best  measure  this 
rapid  and  enormous  accession  of  wealth,  by  comparing  it  with 
an  object  which  all  nations  value — the  commercial  marine. 
The  commercial  tonnage  of  the  United  States. 

In  1840,  was  2,180,764  tons. 
"  1850,     "    3,535,454    " 
"  1860,    "   5,358,808    " 

At  $50  per  ton,  which  is  a  full  estimate,  the  whole  pecuniary 
value  of  the  5,358,808  tons,  embracing  all  our  commercial  fleets 
on  the  oceans  and  lakes  and  rivers,  and  numbering  nearly 
thirty  thousand  vessels,  would  be  but  $267,940,000;  whereas  the 
increase  in  the  pecuniary  value  of  the  States  under  considera- 
tion, in  each  year  of  the  last  decade,  was  281,000,000.  Five 
years'  increase  would  purchase  every  commercial  vessel  in  the 
Christian  world. 

But  the  census  discloses  another  very  important  feature  in 
respect  to  these  interior  States,  of  far  higher  interest  to  thex 
statisticians,  and  especially  to  the  statesmen  of  Europe,  than 
any  which  has  yet  been  noticed,  in  their  vast  and  rapidly 
increasing  capacity  to  supply  food,  both  vegetable  and  animal, 
cheaply  and  abundantly,  to  the  increasing  millions  of  the  Old 
World.  In  the  last  decade,  their  cereal  products  increased 
from  309,950,295  bushels  to  558,160,323  bushels,  considerably 
exceeding  the  whole  cereal  product  of  England,  and  nearly, 
if  not  quite  equal,  to  that  of  France.  In  the  same  period  the 
swine,  who  play  a  very  important  part  in  consuming  the  large 
surplus  of  Indian  corn,  increased  in  number  from  8,536,182  to 
11,039,352,  and  the  cattle  from  4,373,712  to  7,204,810.  Thanks 


26 

to  steam  and  the  railway,  the  herds  of  cattle  who  feed  on  the 
meadows  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  are  now  carried  in  four  days, 
through  eighteen  degrees  of  longitude,  to  the  slaughter  houses 
on  the  Atlantic. 

It  is  difficult  to  furnish  any  visible  or  adequate  measure  for  a 
mass  of  cereals  so  enormous  as  558  millions  of  bushels.  About 
one-fifth  of  the  whole  descends  the  chain  of  lakes  on  which  1,300 
vessels  are  constantly  employed  in  the  season  of  navigation. 
About  one-seventh  of  the  whole  finds  its  way  to  the  ocean,  through 
the  Erie  Canal,  which  has  already  been  once  enlarged  for  the 
purpose  of  passing  vessels  of  two  hundred  tons,  and  is  now  under 
survey  by  the  State  of  New  York,  for  a  second  enlargement  to  pass 
vessels  of  five  hundred  tons.  The  vessels  called  "  canal  boats,"  now 
navigating  the  canal,  exceed  five  thousand  in  number,  and  if 
placed  in  line,  would  be  more  than  eighty  miles  in  length. 

The  barrels  of  wheat  and  flour  alone,  carried  by  the  canal  to 
the  Hudson  river,  were  in 

1842  1,146,292 

1852 3,937,366 

1862  7,516,397 

A  similar  enlargement  is  also  proposed  for  the  canal  connect- 
ing Lake  Michigan  with  the  Mississippi  river.  When  both  the 
works  are  completed,  a  barrel  of  flour  can  be  carried  from  St. 
Louis  to  New  York,  nearly  half  across  the  Continent,  for  fifty 
cents,  or  a  ton  from  the  Iron  Mountain  of  Missouri  for  five  dollars. 
The  moderate  portion  of  the  cereals  that  descends  the  Lakes,  if 
placed  in  barrels  of  five  bushels  each,  and  side  by  side,  would 
form  a  line  five  thousand  miles  long.  The  whole  crop,  if  placed 
in  barrels,  would  encircle  the  globe.  Such  is  its  present  magni- 
tude. We  leave  it  to  statistical  science  to  discern  and  truly  esti- 
mate the  future.  One  result  is,  at  all  events,  apparent.  A  gene- 
ral famine  is  now  impossible ;  for  America,  if  necessary,  can  feed 
Europe  for  centuries  to  come.  Let  the  statesman  and  the  philan- 


27 

tliropist  ponder  well  the  magnitude  of  the  fact  and  all  its  far- 
reaching  consequences,  political,  social  and  moral,  in  the  increased 
industry,  the  increased  happiness,  and  the  assured  peace  of  the 
world. 

rv7*The  great  metalliferous  region  of  the  American  Union,  is 
found  between  the  Missouri  river  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This 
grand  division  of  the  Kepublic  embraces  a  little  more  than  half 
of  its  whole  continental  breadth.  Portland,  in  Maine,  is  in  the 
meridian  70°  west  from  Greenwich;  Leaven  worth,  on  the  Missouri 
river,  in  95°;  and  San  Francisco,  on  the  Pacific,  in  123°.  By 
these  continental  landmarks  the  Western  or  metalliferous  section 
is  found  to  embrace  28°,  and  the  Eastern  division  between  Mis- 
souri and  the  Atlantic  at  Portland,  25°  of  our  total  territorial 
breadth  of  53°  of  longitude. 

It  has  been  the  principal  work  and  office  of  the  American  peo- 
ple, since  the  foundation  of  their  Government,  to  carry  the  ma- 
chinery of  civilization  westward  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Missouri, 
the  great  confluent  of  the  Mississippi.  So  far  as  the  means  of 
rapid  inter-communication  are  concerned,  the  work  may  be  said 
to  be  accomplished,  for  a  locomotive  engine  can  now  run  without 
interruption,  from  Portland  to  the  Missouri,  striking  it  at  St. 
Joseph  just  below  the  40th  parallel  of  latitude.  In  the  twenty 
years  preceding  1860,  a  net-work  of  railways,  31,196  miles  in 
length,  was  constructed,  having  the  terminus  of  the  most  western 
link  on  the  Missouri  river.  The  total  cost  was  $1,151,560,829,  of 
which  $850,900,681  was  expended  in  the  decade  between  1850  and 
1860. 

The  American  Government  and  people  had  become  aware  of  the 
great  pecuniary,  commercial  and  political  results  of  connecting 
the  ocean  with  the  food-producing  interior,  by  adequate  steam 
communications.  But  the  higher  and  more  difficult  problem  was 
then  presented,  of  repeating  the  effort  on  a  scale  still  more  grand 


28 

and  continental ;  of  winning  victories  still  more  arduous  over  Na- 
ture; of  encountering  and  subduing  the  massive  mountain  ranges 
interposed  by  the  prolongation  of  the  Cordilleras  of  our  sister  con- 
tinent through  the  centre  of  North  America,  rising,  even  at  their 
lowest  points  of  depression,  far  above  the  highest  peaks  of  the 
Atlantic  States. 

The  Government,  feeling  the  vital  national  importance  of 
closely  connecting  the  States  of  the  Atlantic  and  of  the  Missis- 
sippi with  the  Pacific  with  all  practicable  dispatch,  has  vigorously 
exerted  its  power.  On  the  1st  of  July,  1862,  nearly  fifteen 
months  after  the  outbreak  of  the  existing  insurrection,  and 
notwithstanding  the  necessity  of  calling  into  the  field  more 
than  half  a  million  of  men  to  enforce  the  national  authority, 
Congress  passed  the  act  for  incorporating  "the  Union  Pacific 
Bail  way  Company,"  and  appropriated  $66,000,000  in  the  bonds 
of  the  United  States,  with  large  grants  of  land,  to  aid  the 
work,  directing  it  to  be  commenced  at  the  100th  meridian  of 
longitude,  but  with  four  branches  extending  eastward  to  the 
Missouri  river.  The  necessary  surveys  across  the  mountain 
ranges,  are  now  in  active  progress,  and  the  construction  of  the 
Eastern  Division  leading  westward  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Kansas  river  on  the  Missouri,  has  actually  commenced.  The 
whole  of  that  division,  including  that  part  of  the  line  west 
of  the  100th  meridian  to  the  foot  of  the  "Bocky  Mountains," 
is  on  a  nearly  level  plain,  and  is  singularly  easy  of  construction. 
Its  western  end  will  strike  the  most  prominent  point  of  the 
auriferous  regions  in  the  territory  of  Colorado,  where  the 
annual  product  of  gold,  as  stated  in  the  official  message  of 
the  territorial  Governor,  is  from  five  to  ten  millions  of  dollars. 
The  gold  is  there  extracted,  by  crushing  machines,  from  the 
quartz,  in  which  it  is  found  extensively  distributed,  needing 
only  the  railway  from  the  Missouri  to  cheaply  carry  the  necessary 
miners  with  their  machinery  and  supplies.  The  distance  to  that 


29 

point  will  be  about  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  which  will  be 
passed  in  twenty-eight  hours.  When  completed,  as  it  easily 
may  be,  within  the  next  three  years,  it  will  open  the  way  for 
such  an  exodus  of  miners  as  the  country  has  not  seen  since  the 
first  discoveries  in  California,  to  which  the  American  people 
rushed  with  such  avidity,  many  of  them  circumnavigating  Cape 
Horn  to  reach  the  scene  of  attraction. 

Meanwhile,  a  corresponding  movement  has  commenced  on 
the  Pacific,  in  vigorously  prosecuting  the  construction  of  the 
railway  eastward  from  the  coast  at  or  near  San  Francisco, 
which  will  cross  the  Sierra  Nevada  at  an  elevation  of  about 
7,000  feet,  on  the  Eastern  line  of  California,  in  the  120th 
parallel  of  longitude,  and  there  descend  into  the  territory  of 
Nevada  at  the  rich  silver  mines  of  Washoe. 

It  is  not  yet  possible  to  estimate  with  any  accuracy  the 
extent  of  these  deposits  of  gold  and  silver,  but  they  are 
already  known  to  exist  at  very  numerous  localities  in  and 
between  the  Eocky  Mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevada,  not  to 
mention  the  rich  quartz  mining  regions  in  California  itself, 
which  continue  to  pour  out  their  volumes  of  gold  to  affect, 
whether  for  good  or  ill,  the  financial  condition  of  the  civilized 
world.  During  the  last  six  months  gold  has  been  obtained  in 
such  quantities,  from  the  sands  of  the  Snake  Eiver  and  other 
confluents  of  the  Columbia  Eiver,  as  to  attract  more  than 
twenty  thousand  persons  to  that  remote  portion  of  our  metal- 
liferous interior.  The  products  of  those  streams  alone  for  the 
present  year,  are  estimated  at  twenty  millions  of  dollars. 

The  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  in  his  official 
Eeport  of  the  29th  December,  1862,  states  as  follows: 

"The  great  auriferous  region  of  the  United  States,  in  the 
western  portion  of  the  Continent,  stretches  from  the  49th 
degree  of  north  latitude,  and  Puget  Sound,  to  the  30°  30' 
parallel,  and  from  the  102d  degree  of  longitude  west  of 


30 

Greenwich,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  embracing  portions  of  Dakota, 
Nebraska,  Colorado,  all  of  New  Mexico,  with  Arizona,  Utah, 
Nevada,  California,  Oregon  and  Washington  Territories.  It 
may  be  designated  as  comprising  17  degrees  of  latitude,  or 
a  breadth  of  eleven  hundred  miles,  from  North  to  South,  and 
of  nearly  equal  longitudinal  extension,  making  an  area  of  more 
than  a  million  of  square  miles. 

"This  vast  region  is  traversed  from  North  to  South,  first,  on  the 
Pacific  side,  by  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  Cascade  Mountains,  then 
by  the  Blue  and  Humboldt;  on  the  East,  by  the  double  ranges  of 
the  Eocky  Mountains,  embracing  the  Wasatch  and  Wind  Elver 
Chain,  and  the  Sierra  Madre,  stretching  longitudinally  and  in 
lateral  spurs,  crossed  and  linked  together  by  intervening  ridges, 
connecting  the  whole  system  by  five  principal  ranges,  dividing 
the  country  into  an  equal  number  of  basins,  each  being  nearly 
surrounded  by  mountains,  and  watered  by  mountain  streams  and 
snows,  thereby  interspersing  this  immense  territory  with  bodies  of 
agricultural  lands,  equal  to  the  support  not  only  of  miners,  but 
of  a  dense  population." 

" These  mountains,"  he  continues,  "are  literally  stocked  with 
minerals ;  gold  and  silver  being  interspersed  in  profusion  over  this 
immense  surface,  and  daily  brought  to  light  by  new  discoveries." 

"In  addition  to  the  deposits  of  gold  and  silver,  various  sec- 
tions of  the  whole  region  are  rich  in  precious  stones,  marble,  gyp- 
sum, salt,  tin,  quicksilver,  asphaltum,  coal,  iron,  copper,  lead, 
mineral  and  medicinal,  thermal  and  cold  springs  and  streams." 

"The  yield  of  the  precious  metals  alone  of  this  region,  will 
not  fall  below  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars  the  present  year, 
and  it  will  augment  with  the  increase  of  population  for  centuries 
to  come." 

"Within  ten  years,  the  annual  product  of  these  mines  will  reach 
two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  in  the  precious  metals,  and  in  coal, 
iron,  tin,  lead,  quicksilver  and  copper,  half  that  sum." 


31 

He  proposes  to  subject  these  minerals  to  a  Government  tax  of 
eight  per  cent,  and  counts  upon  a  revenue  from  this  source  of 
twenty-five  millions  per  annum,  almost  immediately,  and  upon 
a  proportionate  increase  in  the  future.  He  adds  that,  "with  an 
amount  of  labor  relatively  equal  to  that  expended  in  California, 
applied  to  the  gold  fields  already  known  to  exist  outside  of  that 
State,  the  production  of  this  year,  including  that  of  California, 
would  exceed  four  hundred  millions."  "  In  a  word,"  says  he, 
"the  value  of  these  mines  is  absolutely  incalculable."  . 

From  the  documents  and  other  evidences  now  before  the  Inter- 
national Statistical  Congress,  it  must  be  apparent  .that  the  metal- 
liferous regions  of  the  United  States  of  America  are  destined, 
sooner  or  later,  to  add  materially  to  the  supply  of  the  precious 
metals,  and  thereby  to  affect  the  currency  of  the  world,  especi- 
ally if  taken  in  connection  with  the  capacity  of  the  auriferous 
regions  of  Eussia,  Australia  and  British  America,  and  the  possi- 
bility of  increased  activity  in  the  mines  of  Mexico. 

The  undersigned  would,  therefore,  respectfully  beg  leave  to  con- 
clude the  present  Eeport  with  the  suggestion,  that  a  Commission 
be  instituted  by  the  body  now  assembled,  with  authority  to  collect 
such  facts  as  may  be  gathered  from  authentic  sources,  in  respect 
to  the  probable  future  production  of  gold  and  silver,  and  to  pre- 
sent them  for  consideration  to  the  International  Statistical  Con- 
gress at  the  next  or  some  future  session. 

BERLIN,  September  llth,  1863. 

S.  B.  BUGGLES. 

NOTE. — For  the  purpose  of  expediting  the  inquiry  proposed  at  the  close  of  the  preceding 
Report,  and  in  anticipation  of  the  organization,  sooner  or  later,  of  a  Statistical  Bureau  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  New  York,  in  February, 
1864,  appointed  a  Standing  Committee  to  periodically  ascertain  and  report  the  product  of 
gold  and  silver,  by  the  different  nations  of  the  world. 

The  Committee  consists  of  MR.  SAMUEL  B.  RUGGLES,  Chairman,  MR.  JAMES  BROWN,  MR. 
JAMES  GALLATIN,  MR.  DENNING  DUER,  and  MR.  WILLIAM  T.  COLEMAN,  and  ex-officio  of  Mr.  A. 
A.  Low,  President,  and  MR.  JOHN  AUSTIN  STEVENS,  JUNIOR,  Secretary  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce. 


REPORT 


TO  THE 


DEPARTMENT   OF   STATE, 


OP  THE  PROCEEDINGS  OP  THE 


INTERNATIONAL  STATISTICAL  CONGRESS, 


OB  E  It  H,  I  H*  , 

IN  RESPECT  TO 


UNIFORM  WEIGHTS  MEASURES  AND  COINS, 

BY 

SAMUEL  B.   RTJGGLES, 

DELEGATE  PBOM  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMEKICA. 


REPORT 


Mr.  Ruggles  to  Mr.  Seward. 


YOEK,  December  21,  1863. 

:  On  the  14th  of  September  last,  the  undersigned, 
Delegate  of  the  United  States  of  America  to  the  International 
Statistical  Congress  at  Berlin,  transmitted  to  the  Honorable, 
the  Secretary  of  State,  at  Washington,  a  written  communication 
stating,  in  general,  the  proceedings  of  that  Congress.  It 
specified,  among  other  matters,  certain  propositions  of  peculiar 
interest  to  the  United  States,  in  respect  to  a  uniform  system 
of  weights  and  measures,  .and  also  of  coins,  for  the  use  of  the 
civilized  world;  but  not  being  then  able  to  procure  all  the 
particulars  for  a  full  Report  to  the  State  Department,  the 
undersigned  asked  leave  to  make  them  the  subject  of  a  further 
communication,  after  his  return  to  America.  Up  to  the  21st 
of  November  last,  when  the  undersigned  embarked  homeward 
from  Europe,  the  official  publication  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Congress  had  not  been  completed;  but  he  was  able  to  obtain, 
in  England,  a  copy  of  the  publication,  in  respect  to  weights, 
measures  and  coins,  which  had  been  made  since  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  Congress,  by  the  Special  Commission  which  had 
been  instituted  on  that  subject,  by  the  preceding  Congress 
of  1860.  From  that  publication  (a  copy  of  which,  marked  A, 


36 

is  herewith  transmitted),  and  from  other  sources  of  authentic 
information,  the  undersigned  is  now  enabled  to 

EEPOET: 

1.  In  the  Special  Commission,  fourteen  nations  were  repre- 
sented,   to  wit:    The   United  Kingdom  of   Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,   France,   Belgium,   the  Netherlands,  Denmark,   Olden- 
burgh,  Norway,   Sweden,   Prussia,   Eussia,   Switzerland,  Spain, 
Italy,    the    United    States  of  America,    and    also   the  British 
Colonies.    Some  of  the  members  were  also  Delegates  to  the 
recent    Congress    at    Berlin,    and    personally    assisted    in    its 
deliberations. 

2.  That  Commission  proposed  for  adoption,  by  the  Congress, 
the  "METRIC  SYSTEM,"  introduced  into  France  in  1793,  with 
a  slight  alteration  in  1799,  and  made  compulsory  by  law  in 
1840.     Its  basis  is  the   "metre"   being  the  one  ten-millionth 
part  of  the  quadrant  of  the  meridian  of  the  earth,  very  nearly 
equivalent  to  39.3802  English  inches.    From  this  unit  of  linear 
measure,  are  derived:  1st,  The  "litre"  the  measure  of  capacity, 
being  the  cube  of  one-tenth  of  the  metre;  2d,  The  "gramme" 
the  measure  of  weight,  being  the  weight,  in  distilled  water,  at  its 
maximum  density,   of  the   one-thousandth   part  of  the  litre; 
3d,  The  "stere"  the  measure  of  cubic  contents,  being  one  cubic 
metre;  and  4th,  The  "are"  the  measure  of  surface,  being  one 
hundred  square  metres. 

These  measures  are  all  decimally  multiplied  by  the  Greek 
prefixes,  "deca"  "Jiecto"  "Hlo"  "myria" — respectively  repre- 
senting 10,  100,  1,000,  and  10,000.  They  are  decimally  divided 
by  the  Latin  prefixes,  "deci,"  "centi,"  and  "mitti," — respectively 
representing  one-tenth,  one-hundredth,  and  one-thousandth.  The 
unit  of  money  is  the  "franc"  containing,  by  metric  weight,  five 
grammes,  to  wit,  four  and  a  half  grammes  of  pure  silver,  and 
half  a  gramme  of  alloy. 


37 

3.  The  Metric  System  thus  established,  has  been  gradually 
but  steadily  making   its  way  among  the  civilized  nations  of 
Christendom,  until  it  is  now  entirely  or  partly  used  (as  stated 
by   the    Special    Commission),    not    only    by  France,    but    by 
Italy,   Spain,  Portugal,  Switzerland,  Belgium,  the  Netherlands, 
Austria,   Bavaria,   Wirteinburgh,    Saxony,    Hanover,    Mecklen- 
burgh,  Baden,  Hesse,  and  Hamburgh. 

4.  The  countries  not  yet  using  it,  are  stated  to  be,  The  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  The  United  States  of 

America,  Eussia,  Norway,  Denmark,  Peru,  and  Costa  Eica;  to 

• 
which  list,  Prussia,  Sweden  and  some  minor  Powers  in  Europe 

and  in  America  should  be  added. 

The  Eeport  of  the  Special  Commission,  after  reviewing,  some- 
what in  detail,  the  weights  and  measures  in  use  by  the  different 
countries  of  Europe  and  America,  asserts,  that  "the  great  majority 
"  of  nations  have  found  it  necessary  and  useful  to  adopt  a  unit  of 
"length  equivalent  to  the  metre."  An  examination,  however, 
of  the  population  tables  of  the  countries  in  question,  will  show, 
that  although  a  majority  in  number  of  the  civilized  nations  of 
Europe  and  America  may  have  adopted  the  metric  system,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  the  countries  not  yet  using  it  embrace  a  con- 
siderable majority  of  the  Christian  world.  In  point  of  fact,  the 
nations  thus  specified  as  using  the  system,  have  a  population,  in 
round  numbers,  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  millions,  while  that 
of  the  nations  not  yet  using  it,  is  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  mil- 
lions. Of  the  latter  amount,  The  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Brit- 
ain and  Ireland  contains,  in  round  numbers,  twenty-nine  millions; 
The  United  States  of  America,  thirty-one  millions;  Eussia,  sixty- 
one  millions;  Prussia,  eighteen  millions;  and  Denmark,  Sweden, 
and  Norway,  seven  millions;  from  which  classification  it  is  evident 
that  no  general  adoption  of  the  system  can  be  secured,  without 
the  concurrence  of  the  two  great  commercial  nations  that  speak 
the  English  tongue.  The  united  population  of  Great  Britain  and 


38 

Ireland,  and  of  the  United  States  of  America,  is  sixty  minions, 
which,  if  added  to  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  millions  now 
using  the  metric  system,  would  turn  the  scale  strongly  in  its  favor, 
by  raising  the  aggregate  to  one  hundred  and  ninety-nine  millions 
of  "metric"  population,  and  leaving  a  "non-metric"  minority  of 
only  ninety-three  millions.  In  such  an  event,  it  may  be  reasonably 
expected  that  intelligent  and  rapidly  progressive  Eussia,  with  its 
sixty-one  millions,  and  enlightened  Prussia,  Denmark,  Norway 
and  Sweden,  with  their  twenty-five  millions,  wduld  not  long  con- 
sent to  lag  behind  their  sister  nations  in  this  great  march  of  civili- 
zation. 

The  eminent  advantages  of  the  metric  system,  if  generally 
adopted  by  the  civilized  world  of  Europe  and  America,  were  ably 
exhibited  to  the  recent  Congress,  and  especially  by  the  Delegates 
from  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  both  in  the  body  at  large,  and 
in  the  particular  "Section"  to  which  the  Eeport  of  the  Special 
Commission  was  referred  in  the  first  instance.  It  was  evidently 
deemed  desirable,  if  possible,  to  secure  the  concurrence  of  the 
United  States  in  adopting  the  system;  and  the  earnest  hope  was 
expressed  on  all  hands,  throughout  the  discussions,  that  the  sub- 
ject might  command  the  early  attention  of  the  Government  at 
Washington. 

The  British  Government  already  have  the  subject  under  careful 
examination.  The  interesting  and  instructive  Eeport  of  the  de- 
bates and  proceedings  in  the  House  of  Commons,  a  copy  of  which 
(Document  B)  is  herewith  transmitted,  shows  that  a  bill  to  intro- 
duce the  Metric  System  into  the  United  Kingdom,  passed  that 
House  to  its  second  reading  in  July  last,  by  the  vote  of  110  to  75. 
The  bill  seeks  to  avoid  apprehended  national  prejudices  against 
the  Greek  and  Latin  nomenclature  of  the  system  as  used  in  France 
and  elsewhere,  by  substituting  for  the  scientific  denominations  of 
"litre,"  "kilogramme,"  and  "kilometre" — the  more  vernacular 


39 

and  monosyllabic  terms,  the  "new  pint,"  the  "netr  pound,"  and 
the  " new  mile" 

It  is  difficult,  however,  to  perceive  how  the  prefixes,  so  accurately 
denoting'  the  multiples  and  the  subdivisions  of  the  unit,  can  be 
omitted,  without  material  injury  to  the  system.  A  similar  at- 
tempt was  made  in  Holland,  to  adapt  the  names  of  its  ancient 
measures  to  the  Metric  System,  but  after  due  trial  it  was  aban- 
doned* and  the  French  vocabulary  mainly  adopted. 

It  appears  from  the  documentary  history  of  the  United 
States  that,  from  the  very  foundation  of  the  Government, 
the  importance  and  value  of  a  uniform,  accurate  and  scientific 
system  of  weights  and  measures,  has  occupied  the  earnest 
attention  of  the  National  authorities.  'Without  referring  to 
the  discussions  and  proceedings  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  in  its  earliest  sessions,  it  is  sufficient,  for  the  present, 
to  adduce  the  elaborate  and  exhaustive  report  to  the  Senate, 
in  1821,  by  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  then  Secretary  of  State. 

That  celebrated  document,  after  carefully  reviewing  the  history 
of  weights  and  measures  from  the  earliest  antiquity,  pronounces 
the  Metric  System  an  approach  to  "the  ideal  perfection  of 
uniformity,"  and  predicts  that  it  is  destined,  whether  it  succeed 
or  fail,  "to  shed  unfading  glory  upon  the  age  in  which  it  was 
conceived."  With  solemn  and  singular  emphasis  it  further 
declares,  that  "if  man  upon  earth  be  an  improvable -being;  if 
"  that  universal  peace  which  was  the  object  of  a  Saviour's 
"  mission,  which  is  the  desire  of  the  philosopher,  the  longing 
"of  the  philanthropist,  the  trembling  hope  of  the  Christian, 
"  is  a  blessing  to  which  the  futurity  of  mortal  man  has  a  claim 
"  of  more  than  mortal  promise ;  if  the  Spirit  of  Evil  is,  before 
"  the  final  consummation  of  things,  to  be  cast  down  from  his 
"  dominion  over  men,  and  bound  in  the  chains  of  a  thousand 
"years,  the  foretaste  here  of  man's  eternal  felicity;  then,  this 
"  system  of  common  instruments  to  accomplish  all  the  changes 


40 

"  of  social  and  friendly  commerce,  will  furnish  the  links  of 
"  sympathy  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  most  distant  regions ; 
"  the  metre  will  surround  the  globe,  in  use  as  well  as  in  multi- 
"  plied  extension,  and  one  common  language  jof  weights  and 
"  measures  will  be  spoken  from  the  equator  to  the  poles. 

"  The  associated  pursuit  of  great  objects  of  common  interest," 
says  the  Eeport,  "  is  among  the  most  powerful  modern  expedients 
"  for  the  improvement  of  man.  To  promote  the  intercoiwse  of 
"  nations  with  each  other,  the  uniformity  of  their  weights  and 
"  measures  is  among  the  most  efficacious  agencies,  and  this 
"  uniformity  can  be  effected  only  by  mutual  understanding  and 
"  united  energy.  A  single  and  universal  system  can  be  estab- 
"  lished  only  by  a  General  Convention,  to  which  the  principal 
"  nations  of  the  earth  shall  be  parties,  and  to  which  they  shall 
"  all  give  their  assent.  This  concert  of  nations  conceals  no 
"  lurking  danger  to  the  independence  of  any  of  them.  Ifc 
"  needs  no  convocation  of  sovereigns  armed  with  military 
"  power.  Its  objects  are  not  only  pacific  in  their  nature,  but 
"  can  be  pursued  by  no  other  than  peaceable  means.  Would 
"  it  not  be  strange,  if  while  mankind  find  it  so  easy  to  attain 
"  uniformity  in  the  use  of  every  engine  adapted  to  their  mutual 
"  destruction,  they  should  find  it  impossible  to  agree  upon  the 
"  few  and  simple,  but  indispensable  instruments  of  all  their 
"  intercourse  of  peace,  and  friendship,  and  beneficence ;  that 
"  they  should  use  the  same  artillery,  and  musketry,  and 
"  bayonets,  and  swords  and  lances,  for  the  wholesale  trade  of 
"  human  slaughter,  and  that  they  should  refuse  to  weigh  by 
"  the  same  pound,  to  measure  by  the  same  rule,  to  drink  from 
"  the  same  cup?" 

Mr.  ADAMS  concludes  this  portion  of  his  Eeport  with  the 
proposition  that,  "as  France  has  found,  and  for  her  own  use 
"  established,  a  system  adapted  by  the  highest  efforts  of  human 
"  science,  ingenuity  and  skill  to  the  common  purposes  of  all; 


41 

"  as  its  universal  establishment  would  be  a  universal  blessing, 
"  and  as,  if  effected,  it  can  only  be  by  consent  and  not  by 
"  force,  in  which  the  energies  of  opinion  must  precede  those 
"  of  legislation,  it  would  be  worthy  of  the  dignity  of  the 
"  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  consult  the  opinions  of  all 
"  the  civilized  nations  with  whom  they  have  a  friendly  inter- 
"  course,  to  ascertain,  with  the  utmost  attainable  accuracy,  the 
"  existing  state  of  their  respective  weights  and  measures;  to 
"  take  up  and  pursue  with  steady,  persevering,  but  always 
"  temperate  and  discreet  exertions,  the  idea  conceived  and  thus 
"  far  executed  by  France,  and  to  co-operate  with  her  to  the  final 
"  and  universal  establishment  of  her  system." 

It  doubtless  will  be  borne  in  mind,  that  in  the  year  1821,  when 
Mr.  ADAMS  made  this  Eeport,  the  nations  of  the  earth  had  not 
introduced  their  modem  practice  of  occasionally  assembling  by 
their  respective  representatives  for  certain  specific  objects,  in  Inter- 
national Congresses.  A  few  of  the  larger  European  Powers  might 
have  convened  once  or  twice  in  "Holy  Alliance,"  for  purposes 
merely  political,  but  International  Congresses  or  Conventions  for 
the  advancement  of  science,  or  the  arts  of  peace  or  the  progress 
of  civilization,  were  virtually  unknown. 

It  is  therefore  not  surprising  that  a  statesman  even  so  farseeing 
as  Mr.  ADAMS,  should,  at  that  time,  have  thought  it  difficult  to 
secure,  without  great  delay,  the  necessary  interchange  of  opinions 
between  the  nations  of  Europe  and  America,  through  which  alone 
the  Metric  System  could  be  generally  adopted.  Apprehending 
this  difficulty,  he  concluded  his  Eeport,  with  a  proposition  that 
Congress  meanwhile  should  exert  all  its  proper  authority  to  pro- 
vide national  standards,  which  should  secure  temporary  uniformity, 
as  far  as  practicable,  in  the  English  weights  and  measures,  then 
in  use  by  the  United  States,  and  by  the  several  States ;  but  no- 
where, nor  ever,  did  he  abandon  the  high  and  transcendent  object 


42 

of  securing  the  ultimate  and  general  adoption  of  the  Metric  Sys- 
tem, by  the  common  consent  of  civilized  nations. 

In  the  recent  International,  Statistical  Congress  at  Berlin, 
thirty-three  nations  of  Europe  and  America  (particularly  speci- 
fied by  the  undersigned,  in  his  Eeport  of  the  14th  of  September 
last),  were  assembled  and  represented  by  their  respective  Dele- 
gates duly  commissioned.  It  had  been,  moreover,  distinctly  noti- 
fied to  the  Governments  of  those  nations,  that  the  subject  of  uni- 
form weights  and  measures  -would  come  up  for  consideration  in 
that  Congress;  so  that  the  occasion  and  the  convocation  were 
eminently  proper,  for  taking,  at  least,  the  initiatory  steps  for  col- 
lecting and  embodying,  what  Mr.  ADAMS  so  well  denominates 
"the  energies  of  opinion  to  precede  those  of  legislation." 

The  undersigned  would  not  presume  to  urge  any  additional 
considerations  in  support  of  the  Metric  System,  already  so  ably 
vindicated  by  an  authority  so  eminent  and  commanding.  His 
only  purpose  in  the  present  Eeport  is,  to  apprise  the  Honorable, 
the  Secretary  of  State,  of  the  exact  extent,  to  which  the  subject 
was  discussed  in  the  recent  Congress,  in  which  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  saw  fit  to  be  represented,  and  to  state  precisely 
the  character  and  the  phraseology  of  the  various  propositions  on 
that  subject,  which  were  made  or  adopted  in  that  body. 

The  documents  now  transmitted  will  show  that  the  resolutions 
presented  by  the  Special  Commission,  for  the  consideration  of  the 
Congress,  were  as  follows : 

A. — "As  TO  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 

"1.  The  adoption  of  the  same  measure  in  international  commerce,  is  of 
the  highest  importance.  The  Metrical  System  appears  to  the  Section,  to 
be  the  most  convenient  of  all  the  measures  that  could  be  recommended  for 
international  measures. 

"  2.  The  arrangement  and  rules  to  be  followed  in  the  construction  of  the 
standards,  arid  in  the  introduction  of  this  system,  should  be  confided  to 
an  International  Commission,  which  should  also  be  charged  with  the  duties 


43 

of  ascertaining  the  meana  of  correcting  slight  defects  in  the  original  stand- 
ards. 

"  3.  That  it  is  desirable  that  the  introduction  of  the  Metric  System  into 
any  country  which  accepts  it,  should  be  made  compulsory  in  the  shortest 
practicable  period. 

"  4.  That  each  Government  should  establish  a  Department  of  Weights  and 
Measures,  to  superintend  the  introduction  of  the  Metrical  System,  and  to 
carry  out  its  details,  or  to  devolve  the  duty  on  some  one  of  the  existing 
departments." 

B. — uAs  TO  COINS. 

"  1.  That  the  existing  units  of  money  be  reduced  to  a  small  number,  that 
each  unit  should  be  decimal^  subdivided,  and  that  the  coins  in  use  should 
all  be  expressed  in  weights  of  the  Metric  System,  and  should  all  be  of  the 
same  degree  of  fineness,  namely,  9-10ths  fine,  and  1-1  Oth  alloy,  and  should 
be  current  by  law,  and  interchangeable  in  all  the  countries  agreeing  to  this 
proposition. 

"2.  That,  from  their  extensive  use  in  commerce  and  in  monetary  trans- 
actions, the  pound  sterling,  the  dollar,  the  florin,  and  the  franc,  seem  the 
units  the  most  desirable  to  be  recommended  for  universal  adoption ;  each 
country  not  possessing  one  of  these,  in  actual  use,  selecting  the  one  most 
convenient  for  its  own  use. 

"  3.  That,  in  regard  to  the  silver  standard,  the  dollar  be  made  equal  to 
five  francs,  and  the  florin  to  two  and  one-half  francs,  and  the  franc,  as  at 
present,  being  five  grammes  in  weight,  and  containing  4  and  5-1  Oth  gram- 
mes of  pure  silver. 

"  4.  That  the  different  Governments  be  invited  to  send  to  a  Special  Con- 
gress, delegates  authorized  to  consider  and  report  what  should  be,  in  the 
Metric  System,  the  relative  weights  of  the  gold  and  of  the  silver  coins, 
and  to  arrange  the  details  by  which  the  monetary  system  of  different  coun- 
tries may  be  fixed,  and  the  coins  made  current  and  interchangeable  accord- 
ing to  the  terms  of  the  preceding  propositions." 

The  resolutions,  as  thus  proposed,  after  discussion  and  modifi- 
cation in  the  full  body  of  the  Congress,  were  finally  adopted  in 
the  form  following : 

A. — "As  TO  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 

"1.  The  adoption  of  the  same  measure  in  international  commerce  is  of  the 
highest  importance.  The  Metrical  System  appears  to  the  Congress  to  be  the 


44 

most  convenient  of  all  the  measures  that  could  be  recommended  for  inter- 
national measures. 

"  2.  The  arrangements  and  rules  to  be  followed  in  the  construction  of  the 
standards,  and  in  the  introduction  of  this  system,  should  be  confided  to 
an  International  Commission,  which  should  also  be  charged  with  the  duty 
of  ascertaining  the  means  of  correcting  slight  defects  in  the  original  stand- 
ards. 

"  3.  That  it  is  desirable  that  the  introduction  of  the  Metrical  System  into 
any  country  which  accepts  it,  should  be  made  compulsory  in  the  shortest 
practicable  period. 

"  4.  That  each  Government  should  institute  a  Department  of  Weights  and 
Measures  to  superintend  the  introduction  of  the  Metrical  system,  and  carry 
out  its  details,  or  devolve  the  duty  on  some  one'of  the  existing  Departments." 

5.  (Additional  resolution  adopted  in  the  Congress.) 

"  That  in  all  cases  where  the  Government  of  a  country  consents  to  the 
introduction  of  the  Metrical  System  of  weights  and  measures  as  a  permissive 
arrangement,  it  be  recommended  that  the  Metrical  System  should  be  intro- 
duced into  the  business  of  Custom  Houses,  and  that  the  Inspectors  of  Schools 
should  be  requested  to  encourage  the  study  of  that  system  in  the  schools 
subject  to  their  inspection" 

B. — "As  TO  COINS. 

"1.  That  the  Congress  recommends  that  the  existing  units  of  money  be 
reduced  to  a  small  number ;  that  each  unit  should  be,  as  for  as  possible,  deci- 
mally subdivided ;  that  the  coins  in  use  should  all  be  expressed  in  weights  of 
the  Metrical  System,  and  should  all  be  of  the  same  degree  of  fineness,  namely, 
nine-tenths  fine,  and  one-tenth  alloy. 

"  2.  That  the  different  Governments  be  invited  to  send  to  a  SPECIAL  CON- 
GRESS, delegates  authorized  to  consider  and  report  what  should  be  the 
relative  weights  in  the  Metrical  System  of  gold  and  silver  coins,  and  to 
arrange  the  details  by  which  the  monetary  system  of  different  countries 
may  be  fixed  according  to  the  terms  of  the  preceding  propositions." 

3.  (Additional  resolution  adopted  by  the  Congress.) 

"  That  it  being  of  the  greatest  importance,  that  the  different  Governments 
should  appoint  the.  proposed  Commission,  as  soon  as  possible,  this  Section 
recommends  the  Congress  to  make  a  special  communication  of  the  above 
resolutions  to  the  different  Governments." 


45 

It  will  be  perceived  that  the  proposition,  No.  3,  of  the  Commis- 
sion, to  fix  the  ratios  of  the  dollar  and  of  the  florin  to  the  franc, 
although  fully  discussed,  and  at  first  warmly  supported,  especially 
by  the  Delegates  from  the  United  Kingdom,  was  not  adopted  by 
the  Congress.  In  behalf  of  the  United  States  it  was  urged,  that 
if  the  dollar  and  the  florin  were  to  be  altered  in  weight  to  make 
them  even  multiples  of  the  franc,  a  simultaneous  alteration  should 
also  be  made  by  the  United  Kingdom  in  its  pound  sterling,  and  in 
*  the  weight  of  the  gold  sovereign  representing  it,  so  as  to  reduce 
it  to  the  even  multiple,  twenty-five  francs,  from  25.20  francs,  its 
present  weight. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  Eeport  upon  the  statistics  of  the 
United  States  presented  to  the  Congress,  a  copy  of  which  was 
transmitted  by  the  undersigned  to  the  State  Department  on  the 
14th  of  September  last,  that  the  extent  and  productiveness  of  the 
gold-bearing  regions  of  the  American  Union  had  been  brought 
prominently  into  notice.  It  was  in  view  of  the  strong  probability 
that  a  rapid  increase  in  the  product  of  gold  in  our  great  interior 
(especially  when  rendered  easily  and  cheaply  accessible  by  the 
Pacific  Eailway  now  in  progress)  would  occasion  serious  fluctua- 
tions in  the  comparative  values  of  gold  and  silver,  that  the  in- 
herent difficulty  of  fixing  any  permanent  ratio  between  the  coins 
of  the  two  metals,  was  earnestly  urged  upon  the  Congress.  This 
view  was  also  taken  by  many  of  the  most  experienced  of  its  mem- 
bers, and  especially  by  the  Marquis  D'AviLA,  the  distinguished 

• 

Delegate  from  Portugal  and  now  or  recently  its  Minister  of  Fi- 
nance. During  the  discussion,  a  proposition  by  Professor  ASCHE- 
HOUG,  Delegate  from  Norway,  that  one  unit  of  weight  should  be 
fixed  for  coins  of  gold  and  another  for  coins  of  silver,  to  be 
adopted  respectively  by  the  nations  using  the  one  or  the  other 
of  these  metals  as  a  standard,  was  maintained  with  much  clear- 
ness and  force. 


46 

It  was  after  full  consideration  of  the  whole  subject,  and  in  view 
of  its  peculiarly  complex  aspect,  requiring-  very  careful  and  deli- 
berate examination,  that  the  Congress  finally  determined  to  refrain 
from  proposing  any  specific  ratio  of  weight  for  coins,  either  of 
gold  or  silver,  but  rather  to  recommend  to  the  different  Gov- 
ernments to  send  to  a  SPECIAL  CONGRESS,  Delegates  to  be  selected 
for  their  special  fitness  for  the  peculiar  duty  of  preparing  and 
reporting  a  system  of  uniform  coins  for  the  consideration  of  their 
respective  Governments.  Official  copies  of  the  resolutions  of  the 
Congress  in  that  respect,  will  be  transmitted  by  its  proper  officers 
at  Berlin,  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 


Shortly  before  the  close  of  the  session,  a  question  arose  of  con- 
siderable interest,  in  respect  to  the  place  of  meeting  of  the  next 
International  Statistical  Congress  to  convene  in  the  year  1865  or 
1866.  Several  of  the  Delegates,  and  especially  from  Southern 
Europe,  urged  the  claims  of  Turin  in  Italy,  while  others  advo- 
cated Berne  in  Switzerland.  In  participating  in  this  debate,  the 
undersigned  deemed  it  necessary  to  advert  to  the  fact,  that  the 
preceding  sessions  had  been  held  at  Brussels,  at  Paris,  at  Vienna 
and  at  London,  and  the  then  present  session  at  Berlin;  all  in  the 
capitals  of  the  older  nations  of  Europe,  of  mature  growth,  within 
fixed  and  definite  limits,  and  presenting  statistical  features  corres- 
pondingly fixed  and  definite;  and  that  the  time  had  come  for  the 
Statistical  Congress  to  convene  in  one  of  the  new  and  more  pro- 
gressive nations.  In  that  view,  he  deemed  it  proper  to  support 
the  claim  of  Eussia,  as  being  a  nation  at  once  old  and  new,  far- 


47 

nishing  the  statistics  not  only  of  an  established  Power,  but  of  a 
rapidly  expanding,  Continental  Empire,  rendered  still  more  inte- 
resting- by  its  recent  comprehensive  and  truly  imperial  measure 
of  emancipating,  at  a  single  stroke,  and  raising  to  the  dignity  of 
freemen  and  landholders,  many  millions  of  its  people. 

According  to  usage  in  preceding  Congresses,  the  selection  of 
the  next  place  of  meeting,  devolves  on  a  local  Committee  at 
Berlin,  after  generally  gathering  the  opinions  of  members;  but 
from  the  teeling  manifested  in  behalf  of  Eussia,  it  is  believed  that 
the  next  Congress  will  convene  at  St.  Petersburgh. 

Soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Congress  at  Berlin,  the 
undersigned  proceeded  to  Eussia,  for  the  purpose,  as  stated  in  his 
communication  of  the  14th  of  September  last,  of  obtaining  reliable 
statistics  of  its  past  and  present  product  of  gold  and  silver. 
Through  the  courtesy  of  eminent  individuals,  officially  connected 
with  the  Imperial  Government,  which  he  deems  it  proper  now  to 
acknowledge,  he  has  been  enabled  to  collect  very  full  and  satis- 
factory details  of  the  products  of  those  metals,  and  especially  in 
the  Asiatic  portions  of  the  Empire.  Through  the  same  facilities, 
he  has  also  obtained  statistical  information  of  peculiar  interest  to 
the  United  States,  in  respect  to  the  export  of  cereals  from  the 
great  central,  agricultural  interior  of  Eussia,  so  strikingly  resem- 
bling in  geographical  development  and  relative  position,  the  cen- 
tral, food-producing  interior  of  the  American  Union.  On  his  way 
homeward  through  Germany  and  Holland,  he  has  also  been  ena- 
bled to  collect  accurate  information  in  respect  to  the  commerce 
of  those  countries  in  food,  both  vegetable  and  animal ;  as  a  branch 
of  a  general  inquiry  to  ascertain  statistically  the  comparative  con- 
dition of  the  "feeding"  and  of  the  "fed"  nations  of  Europe  and 
America.  He  has  also  taken  measures  for  prosecuting  inquiries 
in  London,  not  yet  fully  completed,  as  to  the  past  and  present  pro- 
duct of  gold  in  British  America,  Australia  and  New  Zealand. 


48 

As  soon  as  lie  shall  be  able  to  present  the  results  of  these  vari- 
ous  inquiries  in  tabular  and  convenient  form,  he  will  ask  leave  to 
deposit  them  in  the  State  Department  at  Washington. 
With  high  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

SAMUEL  B.  EUGGLES. 
To  the  Honorable 

WILLIAM  H.  SBTTAED, 

Secretary  of  State,  &c.t  &c.,  &c. 


DOCUMENTS  A  AND  B, 

ACCOMPANYING  THE 

SUPPLEMENTAL  EEPORT 


TO  THE 


SECRETARY  OF  STATE, 


BY 


SAMUEL  B.   RUGGLES, 

COMMISSIONER   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES   TO   THE  INTERNATIONAL 
STATISTICAL  CONGRESS  AT  BERLIN. 


DOCUMENTS  A  AND  B. 


DOCUMENT  A. 

Report  on  international  weights,  measures  and  coins. 

The  lofty  object  contemplated  by  the  illustrious  promoters  of  the  Interna- 
tional Statistical  Congress,  of  harmonizing  the  statistics  of  all  countries,  for 
the  purpose  of  comparing  their  social  and  economical  progress,  could  with 
difficulty  be  attained  so  long  as  the  weights,  measures  and  coins  used  in  the 
preparation  of  such  statistics  differed  in  each  country.  And  although  it  is 
no  more  within  the  scope  of  statistical  science  to  consider  the  instruments 
by  which  the  facts  are  recorded,  than  it  would  be  in  its  province  to  promote 
a  universal  language  for  the  description  of  such  facts,  such  is  the  amount  of 
mechanical  labor,  the  great  liability  to  error,  and  the  want  of  perspicuity 
created  by  the  great  variety  of  such  instruments  used  in  different  countries, 
that  at  its  very  first  meeting  at  Brussels  a  remedy  was  suggested  by  passing 
a  resolution  recommending  "that  in  the  statistical  tables  prepared  in  the 
countries  where  the  metric  system  does  not  exist  a  column  should  be  added 
indicating  the  metric  reduction  of  the  weights  and  measures  used."  The 
second  meeting  of  the  congress,  held  at  Paris  in  1855,  held  simultaneously 
with  the  great  universal  exhibition,  appreciated  even  more  fully  the  wisdom 
of  the  resolution  passed  at  the  congress  of  Brussels.  Paris,  at  all  times  the 
heart  and  centre  of  all  European  countries,  was  then  the  place  where  the 
industries  of  the  world  were  being  exhibited.  The  juries  engaged  in  com- 
paring the  industrial  progress  of  nations  experienced  the  same  difficulties 
from  the  difference  of  weights,  measures  and  coins  used  by  the  exhibitors  in 
their  description  of  articles,  as  the  statists  were  meeting  in  the  comparison 
of  the  statistics  of  different  countries.  Influenced,  therefore,  by  its  own 
experience,  and  by  that  of  the  practical  and  scientific  men  then  assembled 
in  Paris  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  the  congress  passed  another  resolution 
to  the  effect  that,  "  considering  how  much  the  adoption  by  all  nations  of 
some  uniform  system  of  weights,  measures  and  money  would  facilitate  the 
comparative  study  of  the  statistics  of  different  countries,  the  congress  deem 


52 

it  highly  desirable  that  such  a  uniform  system  should  be  put  in  force."  At 
Vienna  the  congress  did  not  enter  into  this  question ;  but  on  its  meeting  in 
London,  the  subject  had  become  ripe  for  a  fuller  and  more  general  discus- 
sion. By  that  time,  too,  an  important  international  association  had  been 
organized  for  obtaining  a  uniform  decimal  system  of  measures,  weights  and 
coins.  That  association,  which  was  instituted  in  Paris  in  1855,  under  the 
presidency  <0f  the  Baron  James  de  Rothschild,  labored  much  and  successfully 
in  promoting  the  object  by  establishing  branches  in  all  countries,  by  dissemi- 
nating information  on  the  subject,  and  by  instituting  the  most  searching 
inquiries  on  all  the  systems  in  use  in  different  countries.  Animated  by  the 
representations  of  this  association,  the  commissioners  created  by  her  Majes- 
ty's government  included  this  subject  under  the  sixth  section  of  the  congress, 
and  desired  Mr.  Samuel  Brown,  one  of  your  honorary  secretaries  and  mem- 
ber of  the  council  of  that  association,  to  prepare  a  programme  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  congress.  That  programme  dwelt  on  the  advantages  of  the 
decimal  and  metric  system,  showed  its  superior  merits  as  compared  with  the 
unsatisfactory  state  of  weights  and  measures  in  Great  Britain  and  other 
countries,  and  ended  with  four  distinct  recommendations,  viz. :  1st,  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  statistical  tables  published  for  international  purposes  into  the 
terms  of  the  metric  system ;  2d,  the  adoption  of  that  system  by  the  coun- 
tries which  had  not  yet  done  so ;  3d,  a  general  inquiry  into  the  existing 
moneys,  weights  and  measures,  whether  local  or  customary ;  and,  4th,  the 
preparation  of  a  report  for  next  congress  on  the  actual  system  in  use,  and 
on  the  best  means  of  overcoming  the  obstacles  that  may  exist  in  any  country 
to  the  establishment  of  the  metric  system. 

On  the  meeting  of  the  congress  the  question  was  opened  in  the  section  by 
the  reading  of  the  programme,  under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  James  Heywood, 
F.  R.  S.,  after  which  an  animated  discussion  took  place,  in  which  Sir  John 
Bowring,  late  her  Majesty's  superintendent  of  trade  at  Hong  Kong;  M. 
Visschers,  of  Brussels;  Sir  Charles  Pasley;  Professor  Ackendyck,  of  La 
Hague ;  Mr.  James  Yates,  F.  R.  S. ;  Lord  Monteagle ;  Mr.  Brown,  the  writer 
of  the  programme ;  Mr.  J.  P.  Smith,  M.  P.,  and  others  took  part.  The  first 
day  was  devoted  to  the  weights  and  measures,  upon  which  little  or  no  differ- 
ence of  opinion  existed,  and  the  second  was  devoted  to  the  coinage,  some  of 
the  members  advocating  an  international  coinage,  other  members  a  national 
one.  After  much  deliberation,  some  unanimous  resolutions  were  arrived  at, 
and  these  formed  the  subject  of  a  report  to  the  congress,  in  English  and  in 
French,  by  Mr.  Corr  V.  Maeren,  of  Brussels,  the  substance  of  which  is  as 
follows : 

As  regards  weights  and  measures — 

"  1.  That  it  be  recommended  that,  in  countries  not  using  the  metrical  sys- 
tem, the  column  containing  the  reduction  of  all  weights,  measures  and  values 
to  the  terms  of  the  metrical  system,  according  to  the  resolution  of  the  first 


53 

International  Statistical  Congress,  be  added  to  the  statistical  tables  which  it 
shall  be  decided  to  be  published  as  international  tables. 

"  2.  That  the  government  delegates  from  all  countries  in  which  the  metri- 
cal system  is  not  in  use  should  be  requested  to  urge  upon  their  respective 
governments  the  great  advantages  attending  the  adoption  of  the  metrical 
system  in  weights  and  measures,  and  that  all  changes  hereafter  made  should 
have  in  view  the  bringing  of  this  system  into  general  use.  • 

"  3.  That  each  government  should  be  requested  to  institute  an  inquiry  into 
the  existing  weights  and  measures,  whether  local,  customary  or  established 
by  law,  so  that  comparative  tables  may  be  formed,  by  reducing  them  all  to 
the  terms  of  the  metrical  system. 

"  4.  That  an  international  commission  be  nominated,  to  whom  the  results 
of  these  inquiries  may  be  submitted,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  a  report 
for  the  next  congress,  on  the  actual  systems  in  use,  and  on  the  best  means 
of  overcoming  the  obstacles  that  may  exist  in  any  country  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  metrical  system  in  weights  and  measures." 

And  as  regards  coins — 

"1.  The  simplicity,  convenience  and  efficiency  of  the  decimal  system  of 
money  and  accounts  recommend  it  for  general  adoption. 

"2.  The  congress  recommend  the  adoption,  as  far  as  possible,  of  a  common 
degree  of  fineness  in  gold  and  silver  coins. 

"3.  The  congress  also  recommend  that  the  government  delegates  from  all 
countries  in  which  a  decimal  system  of  coinage  has  been  adopted  be  re- 
quested to  collect  all  facts  showing  whether  any  or  what  inconveniences  have 
resulted  from  such  changes,  and  how  such  inconveniences,  if  found  to  have 
existed,  have  been  met  and  remedied. 

"  4.  That  an  international  commission  be  nominated,  to  whom  the  results 
of  these  inquiries  may  be  submitted,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  a  report 
for  the  next  congress  on  the  actual  systems  in  use,  and  on  the  best  means  of 
overcoming  the  obstacles  that  may  exist  in  any  country  to  the  establishment 
of  the  proposed  changes." 

The  international  commission  was  then  nominated,  consisting  of  the  follow- 
ing gentlemen : 

England. — The  Right  Honorable  Viscount  Ebrington  (now  Earl  Fortes- 
cue)  ;  the  Right  Honorable  Lord  Monteagle ;  J.  B.  Smith,  Esq.,  M.  P. ; 
Alderman  Salomons,  M.  P. ;  James  Heywood,  Esq.,  F.  R.  S. ;  Thomas  Gra- 
ham, Esq.,  F.  R.  S.,  master  of  the  mint ;  Charles  Babbage,  Esq.,  F.  R.  S. ; 
James  Yates,  Esq.,  F.  R.  S. ;  Samuel  Brown,  Esq.,  F.  S.  S. ;  Leone  Levi, 
Esq.,  F.  S.  S.,  barrister-at-lawr ;  Theodore  Rathbone,  Esq. 

France. — M.  A.  Legoyt,  director  of  the  general  statistical  department ;  M. 
Michel  Chevalier,  councillor  of  state,  senator,  member  of  the  institute. 

Belgium. — His  Excellency  Silvain  Van  De  Weyer,  Belgian  minister ;  M. 
A.  Visschers,  member  of  the  board  of  mines  and  of  the  central  statistical 
commission. 


54 

Denmark. — Dr.  C.  N.  David,  state  councillor,  director  of  the  statistical 
department. 

Italy. — Count  Arrivabene,  Milan ;  Signer  Bartolomeo  Gini,  Florence. 

Norway. — Professor  L.  K.  Daa. 

Prussia. — Dr.  E.  Engel,  privy  councillor,  director  of  the  general  statisti- 
cal department. 

Netherlands. — Dr.  M.  M.  De  Baumhauer,  director  of  the  statistical  depart- 
ment. 

Oldenburg. — Herr  O.  Lasius,  finance  councillor. 

Russia, — Professor  Kupffer,  of  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences. 

Spain. — Count  De  Ripalda,  central  statistical  commission. 

Sweden. — Dr.  F.  Th.  Berg,  director  of  the  statistical  department. 

Switzerland. — M.  Vogt,  director  of  the  federal  statistical  department. 

United  States. — Dr.  Edward  Jarvis,  Dorchester,  Massachusetts;  J.  H. 
Alexander,  Esq.,  Washington ;  Samuel  B.  Ruggles,  Esq.,  New  York. 

British  Colonies. — W.  Westgarth,  Esq.,  Victoria ;.  J.  T.  Gait,  Esq.,  finance 
minister,  Canada ;  W.  Field,  Esq.,  Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  James  Macarthur, 
Esq.,  New  South  Wales ;  Sir  Stuart  A.  Donaldson,  22  Rutlandgate,  London ; 
J.  E.  Fitzgerald,  Esq.,  New  Zealand, 

These  resolutions  having  been  unanimously  passed  by  Congress,  the  com- 
mission was  duly  installed,  and  at  its  first  meeting  Mr.  Samuel  Brown,  F.  S. 
S.,  and  Dr.  Leone  Levi,  were  desired  to  act  as  honorary  secretaries. 

WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 

The  International  Statistical  Congress,  at  its  first  meeting,  recognized  the 
metric  system  of  weights  and  measures  as  the  basis  of  international  uni- 
formity. There  was  doubtless  a  solid  reason  for  preferring  that  system  to 
any  other,  inasmuch  as  it  prevailed  most  extensively  among  the  countries 
represented  at  that  congress.  Of  the  twenty-eight  countries  then  represented, 
three-fourths,  or  twenty-one,  of  them  had  either  partly  or  entirely  the  metric 
system ;  and  one-fourth,  or  seven,  had  the  British  or  other  system. 

The  countries  using  partly  or  entirely  the  metric  system  were :  Austria, 
Baden,  Bavaria,  Belgium,  France,  Hamburg,  Hanover,  Hesse,  Mecklenburg, 
the  Netherlands,  Parma,  Portugal,  Saxony,  Sardinia,  Spain,  Switzerland, 
Tuscany,  the  Two  Sicilies  and  Wirtemberg. 

The  countries  not  using  the  metric  system  were :  The  United  Kingdom, 
Costa  Rica,  Denmark,  Norway,  Peru,  Russia  and  the  United  States  of  Ame- 
rica. The  simple  fact,  therefore,  that  the  great  majority  of  the  states  did 
use  the  metric  system  rendered  it  quite  natural  for  the  congress  to  demand 
that,  for  the  sake  of  general  convenience,  the  countries  which  did  not  use  the 
metric  system  would  reduce  their  statistical  tables  into  these  units.  At  this 
moment,  when  international  transactions  are  so  multifarious,  and  when  the 
operations  of  trade  are  essentially  universal,  it  becomes  quite  nece&sary  for 


55 

/ 

the  countries  which  happen  to  possess  peculiar  institutions  to  consider 
whether  they  would  not  serve  their  own  interest  better,  and  subserve  at  the 
same  time  the  great  object  of  universal  advancement,  by  abandoning  a  posi- 
tion of  isolation,  and  entering  into  a  common  arrangement  with  other  coun- 
tries. It  was  shown,  for  instance,  before  the  committee  of  the  British  House 
of  Commons  on  Weights  and  Measures,  in  1862,  as  a  strong  evidence  in 
favor  of  the  metric  system,  that  the  progress  of  exports  of  British  and  Irish 
produce  was  more  and'more  to  countries  using  the  metric  system.  Compar- 
ing 1847  with  1861,  it  appeared  that,  whilst  the  exports  to  countries  in  which 
the  metric  system  of  weights  and  measures  was  entirely  or  partially  adopted, 
or  in  the  course  of  adoption,  had  increased  during  that  period  133  per  cent, 
the  exports  to  countries  in  which  the  English  system  of  weights  and  measures 
was  adopted  had  increased  only  48  per  cent ;  and  it  was  urged  that  unless 
Britain  adopted  the  same  system  she  would  be  left  behind  other  nations,  and 
so  suffer  in  her  commerce  and  prosperity. 

Another  reason  for  the  preference  of  the  metric  system  is  its  universal 
character.  Although  national  prejudice  ought  not  to  influence  the  mind  of 
the  learned  and  thinking  portion  of  the  population  in  any  country,  objection 
might  be  made  to  a  system,  however  good,  which  shoutd  bear  on  its  face  the 
national  characteristics  of  any  other  country ;  but  the  metre  is  essentially 
universal  and  cosmopolitan  as  the  earth  in  which  we  live.  From  the  very 
first,  the  philosophers  who  undertook  the  determination  of  a  natural  unit  for 
the  comparison  of  weights  and  measures,  sought  the  co-operation  of  men  of 
science  from  Great  Britain  and  other  countries.  "  Le  roi  est  supplie  d'ecrire 
a  S.  M.  Britannique,  et  de  la  prier  d'engager  le  parlement  d'Angleterre  a 
concourir,  avec  1'assemblee  nationale,  a  la  fixation  de  1'unite  naturelle  des 
mesures  et  des  poids,  afin  que,  sous  les  auspices  des  deux  nations,  des  Commis- 
saires  de  P Academic  des  Sciences  puisse  se  reunir  en  nombre  egal  avec  des 
membres  choisis  de  la  Societe  Royale  de  Londres,  dans  le  lieu  qui  serait  jugd 
respectivement  le  plus  convenable,  pour  determiner  a  la  latitude  de  45  degres, 
ou  toute  autre  latitude  qui  pourrait  e"tre  preferee,  la  longueur  du  pendule,  et 
en  deduire  un  modele  invariable  pour  toutes  leS  mesures  et  pour  les  poids." 
This  was  the  resolution  of  the  National  Assembly,  though  at  this  stage,  for 
political  reasons,  the  nation  responded  to  the  invitation.  When,  however, 
the  measurement  of  the  earth  was  nigh  completed,  again  invitations  were 
issued  by  the  French  government  to  neutral  and  allied  countries,  by  which 
they  were  requested  to  send  deputies  to  Paris  to  assist,  along  with  the  com- 
missioners of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  in  the  final  settlement  of  a  metric 
system  adapted  to  the  usage  of  all  nations.  Such  deputies  were  accordingly 
sent  from  the  Netherlands,  Denmark,  Spain,  Switzerland,  and  several  states 
of  Italy,  and  it  was  by  the  labors  of  the  entire  body  of  French  and  foreign 
commissioners  that  the  metric  system  was  finally  settled  on  the  ten-millionth 
part  of  the  quadrant  of  the  meridian.  Other  natural  units  have  been  sug- 
gested before  and  since ;  some  natural  and  some  artificial ;  some  absolutely 


56 

national  and  some  international.  We  shall  not  enter  into  their  comparative 
merits.  Either,  perhaps,  might  have  been  taken  advantageously,  but,  for 
reasons  which  it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  dwell  upon,  they  have  not  been  so 
chosen. 

Objection  has  been  made  to  the  adoption  of  the  metre  as  the  unit  for  an 
international  system,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  erroneous  in  reference  to  the 
natural  standard  from  which  it  professes  to  originate.  It  was  shown  by  Sir 
John  Herschel,  in  some  letters  in  the  London  Athenceum,  and  since  issued 
in  a  separate  form,  that,  assuming  the  length  of  the  earth's  axis  of  rotation 
to  be  500,500,000  imperial  inches,  the  length  of  the  quadrant  would  be 
393,758,320  imperial  inches,  showing  an  excess  of  50,420  inches  from  the 
standard  computation  of  the  metre,  in  imperial  inches  at  393,707,900,  or  a 
difference  of  jj^jih.  We  do  not  dispute  the  possibility  of  some  error  in 
the  original  calculation,  and  it  is  very  likely  that,  were  another  measurement 
of  the  earth  undertaken  at  this  moment,  with  the  advance  made  in  astro- 
nomical and  mechanical  science,  and  with  the  perfection  attained  in  the 
manufacture  of  instruments,  more  satisfactory  results  would  be  obtained. 
But  we  would  submit  that,  for  practical  purposes,  it  makes  but  little  differ- 
ence whether  or  not  t*he  unit  of  length  represents  accurately  the  ten-millionth 
part  of  the  quadrant.  In  the  United  Kingdom,  the  act  establishing  the 
present  weights  and  measures  had  provided  that  the  seconds  pendulum 
should  be  taken  as  a  standard  in  case  of  loss  of  the  standard  yard,  but  even 
that  was  abandoned  by  subsequent  acts.  Apart  altogether,  therefore,  from 
the  source  whence  the  metric  system  first  originated,  we  accept  it,  not  only 
because  it  is  a  unit  derived  from  nature,  but  because  it  is  a  unit  which  has 
been  adopted  with  entire  satisfaction  now  for  a  period  exceeding  half  a 
century  by  a  large  number  of  civilized  nations.  But  the  one  great  recom- 
mendation of  the  metric  system  is  its  extreme  simplicity,  symmetry,  and 
convenience.  Its  exact  decimal  progression ;  its  power  of  subdivision  and 
multiplication  from  the  highest  and  largest  to  the  smallest  and  most  minute 
quantities ;  the  few  and  specific  names  by  which  each  unit  is  distinguished ; 
their  analogy  and  natural  relation  to  one  another ;  these  are  merits  which 
have  put  the  metric  system  far  in  advance  of  any  other,  and  which  have,  in 
fact,  neutralized  any  objections  which  have  been  urged  against  the  adoption 
of  the  unit  upon  which  the  whole  is  founded. 

Having  thus  seen  that  there  were  valid  reasons  why  the  International 
Statistical  Congress  should  have  chosen  the  metric  system  and  recommended 
it  for  the  adoption  of  all  countries,  we  shall  proceed  with  our  report  on  the 
existing  weights  and  measures  in  different  countries,  and  of  the  steps  taken 
towards  the  adoption  of  a  uniform  system. 


57 


UNITED  KINGDOM. 

In  this  country  the  greatest  possible  confusion  in  the  weights  and  measures 
in  use  exists,  as  many  as  ten  different  systems  being  actually  in  force.  There 
is  first  the  grain  computed  decimally,  which  is  used  for  scientific  purposes ; 
second,  the  troy  weight ;  third,  the  troy  ounce  with  decimal  multiples  and 
divisions  called  bullion  weight ;  fourth,  bankers' weight,  to  weigh  10,  20, 
30,  50,  100,  and  200  sovereigns;  fifth,  apothecary  weight ;  sixth,  diamond 
weight  and  pearl  weight,  including  carats ;  seventh,  avoirdupois  weight ; 
eighth,  weights  for  hay  and  straw  ;  ninth,  wood  weight,  using  as  factors  2, 
3,  7,  13,  and  their  multiples;  and,  tenth,  coal  weight,  decimal.  But, 
besides  these,  there  are  a  vast  variety  of  local  weights  and  measures 
the  use  of  which  the  law  has  not  hitherto  succeeded  in  abolishing.  In  fact, 
although  as  far  back  as  Magna  Charta,  it  was  ordained  that  there  should  be 
but  one  system  of  weights  and  measures  through  the  whole  country,  we  are 
as  far  now  as  ever  from  having  attained  the  desired  uniformity.  Two  reasons 
may  probably  be  assigned  for  the  failure  of  our  legislation  on  this  subject. 
First  is  the  defect  of  the  law,  which,  with  a  view  not  to  press  too  hard 
against  the  habits  of  the  people,  has  always  left  it  open  for  parties  to  con- 
tinue the  use  of  the  customary  weights  and  measures ;  and  second,  because 
there  has  never  been  introduced  a  clear  and  intelligible  system  capable  of 
meeting  the  requirements  of  society ;  and,  therefore,  every  trade  and  every 
class  had  to  seek  its  own  way  of  weighing  and  measuring  commodities. 

For  a  long  time  the  mind  of  the  nation  has  been  unsettled  as  regards  the 
decimal  computation.  The  commissioners  on  weights  and  measures,  in  1838, 
directed  their  attention  to  the  subject.  In  1844,  Sir  John  Bowring  obtained 
a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  decimal  coinage,  when  a  good 
deal  of  information  was  elicited  on  the  decimalization  of  the  weights  and 
measures.  In  1853,  Sir  William  Brown,  then  member  for  South  Lancashire, 
carried  a  resolution  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  favor  of  decimal  coinage, 
and  almost  uniformly  the  petitions  presented  to  Parliament  in  favor  of  the 
measure  recommended  that  the  weights,  measures,  and  coin  should  form 
part  of  one  system,  though  it  was  deemed  best  to  commence  the  reform  by 
decimalizing  first  the  coinage.  The  state  of  politics,  and  the  opposition 
manifested  to  a  particular  scheme,  intercepted  the  progress  of  the  measure, 
till  in  1862,  after  years  of  labor  on  the  part  of  the  international  association, 
and  under  the  influence  of  the  cosmopolitan  spirit  created  by  the  international 
exhibition,  Mr.  William  Ewart,  member  for  Dumfries,  moved  for  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  "to  consider  the  practicability  of  adopting  a 
simple  and  uniform  system  of  weights  and  measures,  with  a  view  not  only 
to  the  benefit  of  our  internal  trade,  but  to  facilitate  our  trade  and  intercourse 
with  foreign  countries."  The  committee  was  appointed  on  the  8th  of  April, 
1862,  and  it  was  nominated  on  the  1st  of  May  as  follow* :  Messrs.  William 
8 


58 

Ewart,  chairman ;  Right  Hon.  Sotheron  Estcourt,  Richard  Cobden,  Right 
Hon.  C.  Adderley,  Edward  Baines,  Colonel  Wilson  Patten,  John  Benjamin 
Smith,  W.  W.  F.  Hume,  John  St.  Aubyn,  John  Pope  Hennessy,  W.  A. 
Mackinnon,  Charles  Finlay,  G.  Greenal,  Colonel  Sykes,  F.  R.  S.,  and  William 
Pollard-TJrquhart.  ^ 

The  committee  was  formed  at  a  most  auspicious  moment,  when  many 
learned  and  distinguished  men  were  in  this  country  for  the  international 
exhibition.  Seldom,  indeed,  have  we  seen  such  a  galaxy  of  eminent  wit- 
nesses as  appeared  before  Mr.  Ewart's  committee — men  such  as  Mr.  Graham, 
the  master  of  the  mint;  Mr.  Fairbairn,  the  late  president  of  the  British 
Association ;  Professor  Airy,  the  astronomer  royal ;  Professor  Miller,  of 
Cambridge  ;  Professor  De  Morgan,  Dr.  W.  Farr,  Mr.  James  Yates,  Fellow 
of  the  Royal  Society ;  M.  Michel  Chevalier,  senator,  member  of  the  institute ; 
M.  Visschers,  conseiller  des  mines,  of  Belgium ;  Dr.  Karmarsh,  principal 
of  the  polytechnic  institution  of  Hanover ;  Dr.  Steinbeis,  president  of  the 
Board  of  Trade  of  Wirtemberg ;  Dr.  Baumauer,  and  many  others. 

In  dealing  with  a  question  of  such  a  momentous  and  practical  character, 
the  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  had  three  alternatives :  first,  to 
retain  the  present  system,  though  defective,  and  simply  to  endeavor  to 
amend  the  law — as  it  had  been  done  again  and  again,  without  result — a  mode 
which  no  one  recommended ;  second,  to  create  a  separate  decimal  system  for 
the  United  Kingdom — that  is  to  say,  to  decimalize  the  present  units,  the 
pound,  the  yard,  and  the  gallon — as  recommended  by  Professor  Airy,  De 
Morgan,  and  others ;  third,  to  adopt,  in  common  with  other  countries,  the 
metric  system,  in  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of  a  host  of  wit- 
nesses. The  first  of  these  modes  appeared  to  the  committee  quite  useless. 
The  second  would  necessitate  a  complete  change,  and  cause  much  confusion 
and  trouble,  without  corresponding  results.  The  latter — the  introduction 
of  the  metric  system — seemed  by  far  the  simplest  and  best.  By  adopting 
this  course,  the  committee  were  enabled  to  set  aside  the  chaos  of  our 
irregular  method,  and  all  the  discrepancies  by  which  it  is  distinguished,  and 
to  enter  at  once  into  a  plain  and  symmetric  principle.  And  when  they  con- 
sidered that  their  instructions  were  not  only  to  seek  a  system  perfect  and 
complete  in  itself,  but  one  which  should  facilitate  trade  and  intercourse  with 
foreign  countries,  they  could  not  well  hesitate  in  their  choice. 

The  special  method  recommended  by  the  committee  for  the  ultimate  adop- 
tion of  the  metric  system  was  summed  up  in  the  report  as  follows : 

1.  That  the  use  of  the  metric  system  be  rendered  legal,  though  no  com- 
pulsory measures  should  be  resorted  to  until  they  are  sanctioned  by  the 
general  conviction  of  the  public. 

2.  That  a  department  of  weights  and  measures  be  established  in   con- 
nection with  the  Board  of  Trade.    It  would  thus  become  subordinate  to  the 
government,  and  responsible  to  Parliament.    To  it  should  be  intrusted  the 


59 

conservation  and  verification  of  the  standard,  the  superintendence  of 
inspectors,  and  the  general  duties  incident  to  such  a  department.  It  should 
also  take  such  measures  as  may  from  time  to  time  promote  the  use  and 
extend  the  knowledge  of  the  metric  system  in  the  departments  of  government, 
and  among  the  people. 

3.  The  government  should  sanction  the  use  of  the  metric  system,  together 
with  our  present  one,  in  the  levying  of  the  customs  duties ;  thus  familiarizing 
it  among  our  merchants  and  manufacturers,  and  giving  facilities  to  foreign 
traders  in  their  dealings  with  this  country.     Its  use,  combined  with  that  of 
our  own  system,  in  government  contracts,  has  also  been  suggested. 

4.  The  metric  system  should  form  one  of  the  subjects  of  examination  in 
the  competitive  examinations  of  the  civil  service. 

5.  The  gram  should  be  used  as  a  weight  for  foreign  letters  and  books  at 
the  post  office. 

6.  The  committee  of  council  on  education  should  require  the  metric  sys- 
tem to  be  taught  (as  might  easily  be  done  by  means  of  tables  and  diagrams) 
in  all*  schools  receiving  grants  of  public  money. 

7.  In  the  public  statistics  of  the  country,  quantities  should  be  expressed 
in  terms  of  the  metric  system  in  juxtaposition  with  those  of  our  own,  as 
suggested  by  the  international  statistical  congress. 

8.  In  private  bills  before  Parliament,  the  use  of  the  metric  system  should 
be  allowed. 

9.  The  only  weights  and  measures  in  use  should  be  the  metric  and  im- 
perial, until  the  metric  has  generally  been  adopted. 

10.  The  proviso  in  the  5th  and  6th  William  IV.,  c.  63,  s.  6,  should  be 
repealed. 

11.  The  department  which  it  is  proposed  to  appoint  should  make  an 
annual  report  to  Parliament. 

The  report  was  well  received  throughout  the  country,  and  in  furtherance 
of  its  recommendations,  a  bill  or  project  of  law,  was  introduced  in  the 
House  of  Commons  by  Mr.  William  Ewart,  Mr.  Cobden,  the  Right  Hon. 
Mr.  Adderly,  and  Mr.  Finley.  It  was  at  first  decided  upon  simply  legalizing 
the  use  of  the  metric  system  with  its  own  nomenclature,  but  it  was  objected 
to  this  method  that,  so  long  as  it  was  permissive  only,  the  people  would 
continue  to  use  the  existing  system,  and  no  effort  would  be  made  to  teach 
or  introduce  the  new ;  that  to  have  another  system  side  by  side  with  the 
existing  one  would  only  add  to  the  confusion,  whilst  the  introduction  of  the 
same,  with  its  Greek  and  Latin  nomenclature,  would  effectually  preclude  the 
chance  of  its  ever  becoming  popular  with  the  masses.  The  bill  was,  therefore, 
constructed  to  the  effect  of  making  the  use  of  the  new  weights  and  measures 
permissive  for  three  years,  but  compulsory  thereafter,  and  of  legalizing  the 
use  of  the  old  names  for  new  quantities,  by  the  addition  of  the  word  "  new." 
The  chambers  of  commerce  of  the  United  Kingdom^  the  Pharmaceutical 


60 

Society,  the  British  architects,  and  a  goodly  number  of  merchants,  traders, 
and  persons  connected  with  education,  petitioned  Parliament  in  favor  of  the 
bill.  Mr.  Ewart  introduced  the  bill ;  Mr.  Cobden,  Colonel  Sykes,  Mr.  J.  B. 
Smith,  Mr.  Baines,  Mr.  Pollard  Urquhart,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Farquhar,  and 
others,  took  part  in  the  debate,  and  though  a  general  opinion  was  expressed 
in  favor  of  a  permissive  bill  only,  the  bill  passed  a  second  reading  by  a 
majority  of  110  to  75.  It  is  gratifying  to  find  that  the  principle  of  intro- 
ducing the  metric  system  in  the  United  Kingdom  was  sanctioned  first  by 
the  unanimous  vote  of  a  parliamentary  committee,  and  afterwards  by  the 
House  of  Commons  itself. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  held  in  Newcastle,  in  the 
present  year,  the  following  important  and  practical  observations  were  made 
by  Sir  William  Armstrong,  the  president  of  the  association  in  his  opening 
address : 

"Another  subject  of  a  social  character  which  demands  our  consideration 
is  the  much-debated  question  of  weights  and  measures.  Whatever  difference 
•of  opinion  there  may  be  as  to  the  comparative  merits  of  decimal  and  duo- 
decimal division,  there  can  at  all  events  be  none  as  to  the  importance  of 
assimilating  the  systems  of  measurement  in  different  countries.  Science 
suffers  by  the  want  of  uniformity,  because  valuable  observations  made  in 
one  country  are  in  a  great  measure  lost  to  another,  from  the  labor  required 
to  convert  a  series  of  quantities  into  new  denominations.  International 
commerce  is  also  impeded  by  the  same  cause,  which  is  productive  of  constant 
inconvenience  and  frequent  mistake.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  two 
standards  of  measure  so  nearly  alike  as  the  English  yard  and  the  French 
metre  should  not  be  made  absolutely  identical.  The  metric  system  has 
already  been  adopted  by  other  nations  besides  France,  and  is  the  only  one 
which  has  any  chance  of  becoming  universal.  We  in  England,  therefore,  have 
no  alternative  but  to  conform  with  France,  if  we  desire  general  uniformity. 
The  change  might  easily  be  introduced  in  scientific  literature,  and  in  that 
case  would  probably  extend  itself  by  degrees  amongst  the  commercial  classes 
without  much  legislative  pressure.  Besides  the  advantage  which  would  thus 
be  gained  in  regard  to  uniformity,  I  am  convinced  that  the  adoption  of 
the  decimal  division  of  the  French  scale  would  be  attended  with  great 
convenience,  both  in  science  and  commerce.  I  can  speak  from  personal 
experience  of  the  superiority  of  decimal  measurement  in  all  cases  where 
accuracy  is  required  in  mechanical  construction.  In  the  Elswick  Works,  as 
well  as  in  some  other  large  establishments  of  the  same  description,  the  inch 
is  adopted  as  the  unit,  and  all  fractional  parts  are  expressed  in  decimals. 
No  difficulty  has  been  experienced  in  habituating  the  workmen  to  the  use 
of  this  method,  and  it  has  greatly  contributed  to  the  precision  of  workman- 
ship. The  inch,  however,  is  too  small  a  unit,  and  it  would  be  advantageous 
to  substitute  the  metre  if  general  concurrence  could  be  obtained.  As  to  our 


61 

thermometric  scale,  it  was  originally  founded  in  error ;  it  is  also  most  incon- 
venient in  division,  and  ought  at  once  to  be  abandoned  in  favor  of  the  centi- 
grade scale.  The  recognition  of  the  centigrade  scale  by  the  numerous  men 
of  business  composing  the  British  Association,  would  be  a  most  important 
step  towards  effecting  the  universal  adoption  of  the  French  standards  in 
this  country,  which  sooner  or  later  will  inevitably  take  place." 

The  question  was  debated  in  a  section  of  the  British  Association,  and  is 
proposed  for  further  discussion  at  the  meeting  of  the  National  Association 
for  the  Promotion  of  Social  Science,  to  be  held  in  Edinburgh  in  the  month 
of  October  next. 

FRANCE. 

This  being  the  country  whence  the  metric  system  first  emanated,  it  is 
natural  that  its  legislation  and  practice  on  the  subject  should  be  carefully 
studied.  Unfortunately,  the  measure  was  introduced  at  a  most  unfavorable 
time,  and,  for  a  long  period,  it  labored  against  the  most  decided  opposition 
and  prejudice.  From  the  first,  the  government  was  not  in  earnest  in, 
securing  its  success,  whilst  the  nation  itself  was  scarcely  prepared  for 
the  many  radical  changes  so  suddenly  effected  by  the  revolution.  Some 
steps  were,  nevertheless,  taken,  rather  as  an  experiment.  The  Board  of 
Works  adopted  it  from  the  beginning.  In  the  naval  arsenal,  too,  the  system 
was  adopted  by  the  officers  and  shipbuilders,  with  the  consent  of  govern- 
ment, and  even  by  the  order  of  the  minister,  but  the  people  at  large  were 
left  at  liberty  to  use  which  system  they  pleased.  It  was  not,  in  fact,  till 
1837  that  the  French  government  took  measures  to  enforce  the  system 
throughout,  a  law  having  been  passed  making  the  use  of  the  metric  system 
compulsory  from  the  1st  of  January,  1840.  Although,  therefore,  a  long  time 
had  elapsed  since  its  first  introduction,  it  would  be  erroneous  to  think  that 
the  measure  was  fairly  carried  into  execution.  Upwards  of  twenty  years, 
however,  have  elapsed  since  the  new  system  has  been  made  compulsory. 
Have  the  French  people  adopted  it  universally  ?  Does  the  metric  system 
find  favor  with  them  ?  Is  it  adapted  to  the  practical  business  of  life  ?  These 
are  questions  which  are  still  differently  answered.  As  far  as  we  have  ascer- 
tained, it  appears  that  the  system  is  bona  fide  made  compulsory ;  merchants, 
traders,  and  even  retail  dealers,  must  use  the  metric  weights  and  measures, 
and  do  use  them ;  and  from  time  to  time  they  are  submitted  to  the  visit  of 
the  inspectors  of  weights  and  measures.  It  is  evident,  at  the  same  time, 
that  the  old  names  are  still  largely  used  by  the  people.  The  "  livre  "  is  a 
much  more  customary  quotation  of  weight  than  the  kilogram  or  half-kilo- 
gram ;  and  the  "  sous,"  than  the  five  centimes. 

BELGIUM. 

In  Belgium  the  metric  system  was  introduced  when  the  French  took  pos- 
session of  the  Austrian  Netherlands,  now  forming  the  kingdom  of  Belgium. 


62 

At  first  it  was  introduced  with  the  same  nomenclature  as  in  France,  but  on 
the  union  of  Belgium  with  the  Dutch  Netherlands  the  names  were  changed. 
This  continued  till  1831,  when,  upon  the  erection  of  Belgium  as  an  indepen- 
dent kingdom,  the  original  names  were  again  resumed.  A  new  law  was 
passed  in  1816,  making  the  same  even  more  stringent,  and  by  universal  tes- 
timony, comfirmed  by  personal  experience,  the  metric  system  seems  now  to 
have  been  pretty  extensively  adopted  throughout  the  country.  It  is,  of 
course,  quite  possible  that,  here  and  there,  the  old  local  systems  may  be  still 
found  in  existence,  and  that  small  dealers  may  try  to  take  advantage  of 
the  confusion,  but  generally  the  government  has  met  with  no  opposition  in 
enforcing  the  metric  system.  In  the  new  Belgian  law  the  units  of  the  me- 
tric system  have  been  extended  by  adopting  the  duplicates  of  each  unit, 
multiples  and  sub-multiples.  They  adopted  the  principle  of  having  weights 
representing  50,  20,  5,  2,  and  1.  It  is  the  same  as  regards  weights,  and 
measures  of  length  and  measures  of  capacity.  By  thus  increasing  the  series, 
the  objection  that  the  metric  system  does  not  possess  a  sufficient  series  of 
units  is  altogether  obviated. 

HOLLAND. 

The  metric  system  was  introduced  into  Holland  in  1816,  and  it  came  into 
force  three  years  afterwards,  in  1819,  that  time  being  given  to  facilitate  the 
change ;  but  the  old  Dutch  nomenclature  was  used  for  the  purpose,  such  as 
the  ell,  palm,  duimen  and  streegen,  and  so  forth,  the  word  "  old  "  and  "new  " 
being  used  to  distinguish  the  old  method  from  the  metric  system.  On  the 
success  of  this  method  there  appears  to  be  great  difference  of  opinion.  Dr. 
Baumhauer  said  that  the  simultaneous  use  of  both  the  "  old  ell "  and  "  new 
ell"  produces  confusion.  Others  have  stated  that  no  inconvenience  has 
resulted  from  it.  The  law  requires  the  use  of  the  new  system  in  all  things 
except  for  weighing  medicines.  The  medicinal  pfund  is  three-eighths  of  the 
usual  pfund,  and  is  divided  into  twelve  ounces,  one  ounce  being  eight 
drachms,  one  drachm  three  scruples,  and  one  scruple  twenty  grains. 

SWITZERLAND. 

The  weights  and  measures  in  this  country  are  based  on  a  mixed  system, 
decimal  and  duodecimal.  By  the  law  of  1851,  the  unit  of  length  is  the  foot 
decimally  divided,  equivalent  to  0.3  metre.  The  road  measure  is  the  verg- 
stunden,  equal  to  4,800  metres.  The  liquid  measure  is  the  maas,  equal  to 
one  and  a  half  litre.  The  unit  of  weight  is  the  pound,  equal  to  500  grams 
or  one-half-kilo. ;  but  instead  of  being  decimally,  as  the  foot,  it  is  divided 
into  thirty-two  loth  or  sixteen  ounces.  Switzerland  is  subject  to  two  oppos- 
ing influences,  the  French  and  German.  The  French  cantons  would  have 
preferred  tlje  French  system  in  its  completeness,  but  the  German  cantons 
preferred  the  German  plan.  The  system  adopted  was  therefore  a  compro- 


63 

mise ;  but  should  Germany  adopt  the  metric  system  in  measure  as  well  as  in 
weight,  Switzerland  will  be  ready  to  follow. 

SPAIN. 

The  metric  system  has  been  introduced  by  the  law  of  the  19th  July,  1849, 
to  come  in  force  from  the  1st  of  January,  1859,  though  for  a  portion  of  the 
kingdom  it  came  in  force  in  1853,  the  only  diiference  made  being  in  the 
names,  which  were  rendered  somewhat  more  idiomatic,  as  metro,  area,  litro, 
kilogramo  or  gramo,  decametro,  hectrometro,  kilometro,  <fcc.  The  system 
has  been  extended  to  Spanish  America  and  in  Cuba.  The  Castilian  system 
is,  however,  largely  in  use.  That  system  is  duodecimal.  The  measure  of 
length  is  the  foot  of  twelve  inches,  twelve  lines  and  twelve  points  or  sixteen 
fingers,  and  is  0.278635  metre.  The  elle  is  four  pialms,  or  three  feet  0.835905 
metre.  The  Queen  declared  that  after  the  3d  of  January,  1851,  the  metre 
shall  be  used  in  all  announcements  of  the  sales  of  national  property. 

The  Count  de  Ripalda,  writing  1st  August,  1863,  on  the  progress  of  the 
decimal  system  in  Spain,  says  : 

"  L'ordre  est  donne,  et  la  volunte  du  gouvernement  est  sincere  de  Petablir. 
Les  corps  du  genie,  d'artillerie,  de  ^administration  nationale  militaire,  Tont 
deja  adopte,  et  je  crois  que  la  marine  de  1'etat  aussi.  La  vente  de  terres  et 
de  maisons,  des  biens  de  1'etat,  se  fait  par  hectares  et  metres  carres.  Le 
gouvernement  a  achete  600  collections  de  types  de  toute  classe,  et  il  va  en 
acheter  plus,  pour  etablir  dans  chaque  ville  importante  des  types  de  com- 
paraison.  La  mesure  lineale  est  deja  assez  connue  et  me'me  celle  du  poids, 
car  dans  les  chemins  de  fer  on  paie  par  kilometre  et  par  kilogrammes.  Je 
crois  qu'on  va  mesurer  les  ^avires  par  tonnes  metriques.  On  a  public  et  on 
vend  des  tables  de  reduction  des  mesures  du  pays  a  mesures  metriques,  avec 
les  reductions  faites  depuis  un  a  mille.  En  un  mot,  on  marche  sincdrement 
et  decidement  a  Padoption  du  systSme  decimal,  qui  fera  le  tour  du  monde, 
malgre  1'opposition  de  1'ignorance,  comme  le  feront  toutes  les  nouvelles 
idees  philosophiques  et  humanitaires." 

PORTUGAL. 

The  metric  system  came  into  force  in  this  country  in  1862,  and  a  depart- 
ment for  the  purpose  has  been  established.  Comparative  tables  have  also 
been  constructed  of  the  old  and  new  systems,  and  under  the  able  manage- 
ment of  M.  Fradesso  da  Silveira  every  effort  is  being  made  to  render  the 
system  extensively  known  and  popular. 

His  excellency,  the  Marquis  d'Avila,  in  his  report  to  this  international 
statistical  congress,  says : 

"  Dans  les  congres  precedents,  et  notamment  a  Paris  et  a  Londres,  on 
s'est  occupe  serieusement  de  la  question  de  1'uniformite  des  poids,  mesures, 
et  monnaies,  et  on  a  appeld  1'attention  des  gouvernemeiits  sur  Tutilite'  de 


64 

cette  importante  reYorme,  qui  faciliteraient  essentiellement  I'e'tude  et  la  com- 
paraison  des  faits  sociaux  dans  les  difierents  pays.  Je  pense,  done,  que  je 
dois  faire  connitre  au  congres  qu'elle  est  la  situation  en  Portugal,  en  ce  qui 
concerne  le  systeme  metrique,  sans  chercher  a  demontrer  que  le  Portugal 
est  de  tous  les  pays  le  premier  qui,  apres  la  France,  voulut  adopter  ce  sys- 
tSme,  dont  Fexecution  avait  deja  e'te  ordonne  en  1814. 

"  Je  me  bornerai  a  constater  ce  que  nous  avons  fait  recemment  pour  en 
assuer  Papplication. 

"Le  decret  du  14  D£eembre,  1852,  a  present  que  le  syst£me  metrique 
gerait  obligatoire,  dix  ans  apres,  dans  tout  le  royaume.  Aux  terme  du  me"  me 
decret,  le  gouvernement  devait  fixer  successivement  les  epoques  auxquelles 
chaque  partie  du  nouveau  systeme  serait  mise  en  vigueur ;  ce  qui  seulement 
pourrait  avoir  lieu  six  mois  apres  que  les  etalons  respectifs  auraient  et^  dis- 
tribues,  et  les  tables  comparatives  publiees  pour  sa  promulgation. 

"  Une  commission  centrale  a  e'te  chargee  de  ces  travaux  preparatoires. 
M.  Fradesso  da  Silveira,  secretaire  de  cette  commission,  a  re$u  mission 
d'acheter  les  etalons  verifies  au  conservatoire  des  arts  et  metiers  de  Paris,  et 
en  m6me  temps  d'etudier  pratriquement  ce  service  en  France  et  en  Belgique. 

"  Cette  etude  ayant  ete  termine'e  en  1855,  des  agents  speciaux  ont  ete' 
envoyes  dans  tous  les  de'partements  pour  faire  une  comparaison  exacte,  dans 
chaque  commune,  avec  le  concours  de  la  municipality,  des  anciens  et  des 
nouveaux  etalons.  Un  proces-verbal,  constatant  les  resultats  de  cette  verifi- 
cation, a  ete  dresse  et  depose  aux  archives  de  la  commune.  Des  copies  de 
ce  process-verbal  ont  ete  envoyees  a  la  commission  centrale  et  au  gouverne- 
ment. 

"Ces  re'sultats  sont  consignes  dans  deux  ouvrages  que  je  m'empresse 
d'offrir  au  congre's.  Le  premier  contient  une  collection  de  tableaux  des 
mesures  du  syste"me  metrique  comparees  aux  anciennes  mesures  de  toutes 
les  communes  du  royaume.  Le  second  contient  seulement  la  reduction  des 
anciennes  mesures  de  capacite  dans  toutes  les  communes,  au  systeme  metrique 
et  reciproquement.  Ce  dernier  ouvrage,  dont  six  volumes  sont  deja  im- 
primes,  contient  aussi  des  tableaux  des  unites  de  toutes  les  mesures  Portu- 
gaises  et  Anglaises  prepares  sur  des  documents  officiels. 

"  Quand  les  tables  comparatives  ont  e'te  formees,  la  surintendance  ge'ne'rale 
des  poids  et  mesures,  qui  avait  remplace  la  commission  centrale,  les  a 
envoye'es  aux  municipalites,  et  a  etabli  partout,  au  moyen  de  son  nombreux 
personnel,  des  ecoles  pour  expliquer  le  nouveau  systeme.  Les  instituteurs 
appeles  dans  les  ecoles  ont  e'te  bientot  a  m^me  de  le  rendre  familier  a  leurs 
eleves. 

"Dans  la  dernidre  anne'e  et  dans  1'annee  courante,  le  personnel  du  de- 
partement  des  poids  et  mesures  a  inspect^  2,720  Ecoles,  publiques  et'parti- 
culiSres. 


"  En  outre,  un  grand  nombre  d'onvrnges  elernentaires  ont  et6  publics 
pour  1'usage  des  ecoles  et  du  public.  II  est  resulte  de  cet  ensemble  d'efforts 
que  le  delai  de  dix  ans,  presc.rit  en  1852,  ne  s'etait  pas  encore  ecoule,  que, 
par  le  decret  du  5  Juin,  1850,  le  gouvernement  ordonnait  1'application  du 
nouvenu  syst6me  a  dater  du  1  Janvier,  1860,  que  pour  les  mesures  lineaires, 
et  par  le  decret  du  20  Septembre,  1860,  1'application  du  m6me  systeme  pour 
les  poids,  a  commenccr  du  1  Juillet,  1861. 

"  Pour  rendre  ces  dispositions  applicables  au  service  des  Douanes  et  a  la 
Douane  municipale  (octroi)  de  Lisbonne,  d'apres  le  nouveau  systSme,  la  loi 
du  30  Juin,  1860,  a  autorise  le  gouvernement  a  publicr  une  nouvelle  edition 
du  tarif  general  des  Douanes.  Cette  autorisation  a  ete  mise  a  execution  la 
m6me  annee. 

"  J'ai  1'honneur  de  faire  hommage  au  congres  d'un  exemplaire  du  tarif 
actuel  et  des  tableaux  du  commerce  exterieur  de  1860-'61  et  de  1861-'62,  en 
ce  qui  concerne  les  importations  et  les  exportations  qui  ont  en  lieu,  dans  ces 
deux  annees,  par  les  Douanes  de  Lisbonne  et  du  porte,  les  deux  principales 
Douanes  de  Portugal.  J'ajoute  a  ces  documents  la  statistique  de  Poctroi 
municipal  de  Lisbonne,  pour  ces  deux  annees  et  pour  1'annee  1862-'63. 
Tons  ces  documents  sont  rediges  d'apres  le  systeme  metrique. 

"  Pour  les  mesures  de  surface  et  de  capacite  du  systeme  metrique,  tous 
les  travaux  preparatoires  sont  deja  termines,  et  le  gouvernement  ne  tardera 
pas  a  en  ordonner  la  mise  en  vigueur. 

• "  L'organisation  du  service  du  systeme  metrique  en  Portugal  a.  offert  des 
elements  precieux  pour  la  statistique  de  1'instruction  primaire  et  de  1'industrie 
de  manufacture. 

"  Grace  au  zele  indefatigable  de  M.  Fradesso  da  Silveira,  chef  du  bureau 
des  poids  et  mesures,  les  employes  charges  de  visiter  les  ecoles  primaires 
dans  1'interet  du  systeTne  metrique,  ont  egalement  re9u  mission  de  recueiller 
tous  les  renseignements  indispensables  pour  organiser  la  statistique  de  ces 
ecoles.  Leurs  travaux,  qui  comprennent  tous  les  districts,  sont  presque  ter- 
mines, et  on  a  deja  public  la  statistique  de  onze  des  dix-sept  districts." 

GREECE. 

The  metric  system,  with  some  modifications  in  nomenclature  and  quanti- 
ties, was  introduced  by  the  law  of  28th  September,  1836,  but  the  nomen- 
clature is  Greek.  The  royal  piki  or  metre  has  10  palms;  a  palm  is  10  zoll, 
and  the  zoll  10  linien  or  millimetres.  For  road  measure,  1,000  piki  1  kilo- 
metre. For  weights,  the  royal  mine  is  equal  to  1,500  drachmes  or  grams, 
one  and  a  half  kilogram;  1  gram  has  10  obolen  or  (decigrams)  10  gran 
(centigram.)  The  talent  has  100  minen,  150  kilograms.  In  the  Ionian 
Islands  the  English  system  at  present  exists. 
9 


66 


ITALY. 

The  whole  of  Italy  now  possess  the  metric  system.  For  a  considerable 
time  past  Sardinia  and  Lombardy  had  the  same  weights  and  measures  as  in 
France ;  but  since  the  Neapolitan  states,  the  Romagna,  Tuscany,  and  other 
parts  have  been  united  with  the  Sardinian  states  into  an  Italian  kingdom,  the 
same  system  has  been  introduced  throughout,  and  the  change  has  been 
effected  without  any  practical  difficulty. 

GERMANY. 

The  different  states  of  Germany  have  all  different  weights  and  measures. 

In  Prussia  the  foot  has  12  inches  and  12  lines,  and  is  equal  to  0.3138  metre. 
The  mile  of  24,000  is  the  unit  of  road  measure,  and  is  equivalent  to  7532.485 
metres.  For  land  measure  the  morgen  has  180  square  ruthen,  equivalent  to 
2,553.225  square  metres.  For  corn  measure  the  sheffel  of  16  metzen  is 
equivalent  to  54.9615  litres.  The  Prussian  pfund  is  equal  to  467.711  grams 
In  Vienna,  the  foot,  equally  divided,  as  in  Prussia,  is  equivalent  to  0.316111 
metres  divided  duodecimally.  For  weights  the  centner  has  100  pfund 
equivalent  to  560.012  grams  each,  100  pfund  being  equal  to  123.462  Eng- 
lish avoirdupois.  But  in  Austria,  the  half-kilo  has  been  taken  as  the  basis 
for  collecting  the  customs,  and  the  same  decimal  weight  has  been  introduced 
into  all  great  mercantile  operations,  and  in  the  calculation  of  the  operations 
of  the  steamboat  and  railway  traffic.  Such  changes  have  been  effected  with- 
out any  difficulty,  and  no  inconvenience  has  been  experienced.  In  1860  a 
conference  was  held  in  Frankfort,  of  commissioners  from  Austria,  Bavaria, 
Saxony,  Hanover,  Wirtemberg,  Baden,  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Nassau,  Mecklen- 
burg Schwerin,  Mecklenburg  Strelitz,  Oldenburg,  Anhalt,  Schwarzburg, 
Lichtenstein,  Schaumburg,  Lippe,  and  the  few  free  towns,  to  consider  and 
report  upon  the  best  system  of  weights  and  measures  for  the  whole  of  Ger- 
many, and  after  careful  consideration  of  the  whole  subject,  they  recommend 
the  introduction  of  the  metric  system  as  detailed  in  the  programme  by  Dr. 
Engel.  Unfortunately  Prussia  was  not  represented  at  that  conference,  and 
the  resolutions  have  not  yet  been  carried  into  effect. 

His  excellency,  the  Baron  von  Czoernig,  president  of  the  central  statistical 
commission,  Vienna,  writing  5th  August,  1863,  reports: 

"Depuis  1'exposition  que  j'ai  faite  a  Londres  1'annee  passee,  au  comite 
preside  par  le  Comte  de  Fortescue  (Lord  Ebrington)  rien  ne  s'est  passe  de 
nouveau  sur  cet  objet  chez  nous.  Mais  on  prepare  1'introduction  generate 
du  systeme  metrique,  sur  laquelle  je  ne  manquerai  pas  de  yous  prevenir  des 
que  quelque  chose  se  lit  dans  la  matiere.  En  attendant,  le  syst6me  metrique 
est  en  activite  pour  les  monnaies  (dont  1'unite  est  le  'zollpfund  '=-£  kilogram) 
pour  les  transports  sur  les  chemins  de  fer  et  les  bateaux  a  vapeur,  et  pour  le 
paiement  des  droits  de  douane  dans  1'importation  et  1'exportation  des  mar- 


67 

chandises.  Ancun  inconvenient  ne  8*y  est  montre*,  pas  meme  quand  on  a 
change  la  subdivision  du  florin,  qui  autrefois  avait  60  kreutzer  et  a  present 
100  kreutzer.  Toute  la  population,  m6me  de  la  campagne,  s'y  est  bien  vite 
habituee." 

RUSSIA. 

The  system  in  force  in  this  country  was  established  in  1840,  when  a  com- 
mission was  issued  by  the  government  to  fix  the  exact  relation  between  the 
different  parts  of  the  Russian  metric  system,  and  to  construct  and  deposit 
the  standard  of  these  units.  The  unit  of  length  is  the  foot,  divided  into  12 
inches  and  10  lines,  equivalent  to  0.36079  metre.  The  arshine,  or  the  elle, 
is  equivalent  to  0.71119  metre.  The  unit  for  land  measure  is  the  dessiatine 
of  2,400  square  sasche ;  and  the  werst,  the  unit  for  road  measure,  is  equiva- 
lent to  1066.78  metres.  The  standard  pound  is  equal  to  409.51156  grams. 
Some  steps  have  recently  been  taken  in  Russia  with  a  view  to  take  part  in 
the  general  efforts  for  the  assimilation  of  weights  and  measures.  In  the 
year  1858,  the  council  of  the  international  association  sent  an  address  on  the 
subject  to  the  imperial  Academy  of  Science.  That  academy  appointed  a 
commission,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Kupfer,  Ostrogradsld,  Jacobi  and  Otto- 
struve,  to  deliberate  and  report  on  the  proposal,  and  they  reported  in  favor 
of  making  such  changes  in  the  Russian  system  as  would  bring  it  into  perfect 
harmony  with  the  metric.  Since  the  presentation  of  that  report,  M.  Kupfer, 
the  rapporteur  of  that  commission,  attended  the  fourth  general  meeting  of 
the  association  held  at  Bradford,  and,  expressing  his  own  and  the  opinion 
of  the  Russian  government,  he  gave  the  assurance  that  if  Great  Britain  adopts 
the  metric  system,  Russia  will  also  adopt  it. 

The  relation  of  the  metric  system  to  the  existing  Russian  weights  and 
measures  was  described  as  follows  by  the  committee  of  the  Imperial  Academy 
of  Russia:  "The  dessiatine  has  now  1.0921  hectare;  it  will  in  future  be 
equal  to  one  hectare — that  is,  it  will  be  reduced  10  per  cent.  The  Russian 
verste  is  now  equal  to  1.066  French  kilometre;  it  will  be  equal  to  one  kilo- 
metre— that  is,  it  will  be  reduced  7  per  cent.  The  cubic  sagene  of  Russia 
is  at  present  equal  to  9.712  French  steres  ;  it  will  in  future  be  equal  to  8  steres 
— that  is,  it  will  be  reduced  18  per  cent.  The  new  Russian  pound,  equal  to 
500  grammes,  very  near  one  and  a  quarter  of  the  old  pounds,  will  be  divided 
into  100  zolotnics,  the  zolotnic  being  equal  to  5  grammes.  The  zolotnic 
would  be  divided  into  100  doli,  1  dolea  being  equal  to  5  centigrammes.  The 
new  ton,  equal  to  1 ,000  kilogrammes,  very  near  to  six  old  berkowetz,  would 
be  equal  to  200  Ibs.  The  new  sagene  is  equal  to  2  metres — that  is,  very 
near  to  45  old  verchoes.  The  sagene  is  divided  into  2  archines,  the  archine  into 
10  verchoes,  the  verchoe  into  10  lines.  For  the  measure  of  cloth  and 
drapery,  the  archine,  or  the  half  sagene,  may  be  used,  which  is  divided  into 
10  verchoes.  The  new  archine  will  be  nearly  equal  to  one  and  a  half  of  the 
old,  and  the  new  verchoe  will  be  equal  to  two  and  a  half  of  the  old.  The 


68 

unit  of  measures  of  capacity  will  be  an  equivalent  to  the  litre,  ten  chtofs 
will  make  the  oedra,  ten  tcharks  will  make  the  chtof.  The  unit  of  measures 
for  grain  will  be  osmine  (hectolitre).  The  osmine  is  divided  into  100  gar- 
netz.  The  unit  for  agrarian  measures  will  be  an  equivalent  to  the  hectare, 
little  different  from  the  old  dessiatine.  The  linear  measure  will  be  the  verste 
(kilometre),  equal  to  500  sagenes  (1,000  metres,  little  different  from  a  verste). 
The  measure  for  firewood  will  be  the  cubic  archine;  10  cubic  archine  will 
make  the  decastre,  which  differs  little  from  the  old  cubic  sagene ;  the  fourth 
of  the  decastre  (or  two  cubic  archines  and  a  half)  would  be  little  different 
from  the  sagene  for  wood,  the  log  of  which  would  be  only  three-quarters  of 
archine  of  length,  the  differences  between  the  old  and  the  new  measures 
being  as  follows :  1  new  pound  is  equal  to  1  old  pound  less  25  per  cent ;  1 
new  archine  is  equal  to  1  old  archine  less  40  per  cent ;  1  new  osmine  is 
equal  to  the  old  osmine  less  5  per  cent ;  1  new  vedro  is  equal  to  the  old 
vedro  less  20  per  cent ;  the  verste  and  the  dessiatine  are  equal  to  the  old 
verste  and  dessiatine ;  the  new  decastre  is  equal  to  the  old  cubic  sagene. 

SWEDEN,  NORWAY  AND  DENMARK. 

A  new  system  of  weights  and  measures  was  introduced  into  Sweden  in 
1855,  to  be  compulsory  from  the  1st  of  January,  1863.  The  unit  of  the 
measure  of  length  is  the  foot  divided  decimally.  The  stangen  has  10  feet, 
and  the  schnur  has  10  stangen.  The  road  measure  is  the  mile  of  36,000 
feet,  and  the  land  measure  100  square  stangen,  the  square  schnur  being 
equivalent  to  8.81502  French  ares.  For  weight  the  pfund  has  100  ort  or 
100  korns.  The  centner  has  100  pfunds,  and  the  last  has  100  centners.  For 
liquids  the  cubic  foot  has  10  kannen,  or  100  kubikzoti. 

In  Norway  the  system  is  duodecimal.  For  measure  of  length,  the  foot  of 
12  inches  and  12  lines  equivalent  to  0.313763  metre.  There  is  also  the  elle, 
of  two  feet.  The  mile  has  24,000  feet.  The  land  measure  is  the  tonne 
handes,  which  is  equivalent  to  10,000  square  ells.  The  pfund  is  the  1.63 
cubic  foot  of  distilled  water  and  498.4  grams. 

Denmark  has  a  system  somewhat  the  same  as  in  Prussia,  with  some  little 
modification.  17  Danish  ells  are  equal  to  16  Prussian  ells.  The  ruthe  has 
10  feet  for  land  measure;  the  tonde  land  of  8  sheffelon  has  14,000  square 
ells,  equal  to  55.16123  French  ares.  The  centner  has  one  hundred  pfund 
each  of  16  ounces.  The  pfund  is  equal  to  the  half  kilo.  These  three  systems 
are  thus  in  many  points  different,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  learn  that  a  meeting 
of  political  economists  was  recently  held  at  Gottenburg,  attended  by  a  large 
number  of  members  of  parliament  and  persons  of  influence  from  each  sta/e, 
when  it  was  resolved  to  recommend  the  introduction  of  the  metric  system 
with  the  same  nomenclature  as  in  France.  In  consequence  of  this  resolution, 
the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway  has  appointed  a  commission  to  consider 
and  report  on  the  best  mode  of  introducing  the  change. 


69 


TURKEY. 

There  are  two  units  of  length ;  the  first  is  the  picco  or  aistren,  equivalent 
to  0.6858  metre.  This  measure  is  used  for  the  wholesale  and  foreign  trade. 
Second,  the  endasch,  equivalent  to  0.6528  metre.  For  weight  the  cantar  or 
centner  has  44  oken,  also  divided  into  100  rotoli.  The  oka  has  400  drams, 
or  1,285.56  grams.  But  the  Turkish  ^measures  and  weights  differ  in  different 
branches  of  trade. 

CHINA. 

In  China  the  foot  is  the  unit  of  length,  divided  decimally ;  but  there  is 
the  merchant's  foot,  equivalent  to  0.33837  metre;  the  engineer's  foot, 
equivalent  to  0.31972.  Manufactures  are  sold  wholesale  by  the  English 
yard.  The  road  measure  is  the  li,  which  is  equivalent  to  575.5  metres. 
For  weight  there  is  the  pikol,  which  has  100  kattes  of  16  tales  each, 
equivalent  to  133^  English  avoirdupois.  The  katt  is  l£  English  avoirdupois, 
or  604.782  grams. 

JAPAN. 

The  unit  of  length  in  this  country  is  the  sasi,  divided  decimally,  and  is 
equivalent  to  0.303  metre.  There  is  also  the  ell  or  kupera  sasi,  equal  to 
0.379  metre.  For  weight  there  is  first  the  monme,  equal  to  If  gram.  The 
monme  has  10  pun  and  16  rin. 

Extract  from  Sir  R.  Alcock's  "  Three  Years  in  Japan : " 
"All  revenues  of  Damios  are  estimated  at  so  many  ko-koos  of  rice.  This 
I  conceive,  however,  is  merely  a  standard  of  value,  just  as  a  pound  sterling 
is  with  us,  and  does  not  give  any  clue  to  the  quantity  of  land  these  territo- 
ries may  contain.  The  standard  of  superficial  measurement  is  a  tsoobo, 
being  about  6  feet  square,  or,  in  precise  terms,  the  side  is  5  ft.,  ll£  in.,  and 
containing,  therefore,  an  area  of  35.25  square  feet  instead  of  36.  In  referring 
to  the  size  of  a  farm,  an  itham,  containing  300  tsoobo,  is  the  measurement 
generally  mentioned,  and  1  il-than  of  good  rice  land  is  calculated  to  produce 
1,600  its-go  (or  about  532  Ibs.  avoirdupois)  of  clean  rice  at  one  cropping. 
The  pound  weight  is  divided  into  160  equal  parts,  of  which  120  make  1  Ib. 
avoirdupois.  The  smallest  Japanese  grain  measure  is  an  its-go,  which  of 
clean  rice  contains  5 £  oz.  avoirdupois. 

1  Its-go, =        £  Ib. 

10  Its-go  (1  Ischo), =      3£ 

10  Ischo  (1  Itho), =     33J 

40  Itho  (1  Its'ko-Jcoo), =  333£ 

PERSIA. 

In  Persia  the  goss  is  the  unit  of  length  divided  duodecimally.  The  goss 
schah  for  woolen  is  equal  to  1.0160  preber.  2d.  The  goss  mokasar  used  in 
manufactures  is  equivalent  to  0.9347  metre.  The  farsang  for  road  measure 


70 

nas  6,000  goss  or  archines.     For  weight  there  is  the  mahnd,  which  in  some 
states  is  equal  to  3.098  kilog.;  in  others  it  is  more  than  double. 

INDIA. 

The  unit  of  length  in  Bombay  is  the  haht,  equivalent  to  0.45719  metre, 
and  in  Calcutta  the  fathom,  or  four  hahts.  The  road  measure  is  the  coss, 
equivalent  to  1828.767  metres;  for  land  measure  is  the  biggah,  which  has" 
20  cottahs,  or  6,400  square  hahts,  equivalent  to  13.37755  ares.  The  new 
bazaar  weight  is  the  tola,  equivalent  to  10.66375  grams.  The  mahnd  has  40 
sihrs  320  tolas.  Complaints  are,  however,  made  of  the  great  variety  of 
weights  in  use.* 

AMERICA,  (UNITED  STATES.) 

The  weights  and  measures  in  the  United  States  are  equal  to  the  British. 
But  for  weights,  New  York,  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  have  the  cent- 
ner, of  100  Ibs. ;  the  quarter,  of  25  Ibs. ;  the  ton,  of  2,000  Ibs.  In  the  other 
States,  the  ton  is  2,240  Ibs.f  Some  of  the  States  have  expressed  a  desire  to 
introduce  the  metric  system  of  weights  and  measures. 

MEXICO. 

In  this  country,  the  old  Spanish  system  still  obtains.  The  unit  of  length 
is  the  vara,  equivalent  to  0.83695  metre ;  100  English  yards  make  109£  Mexi- 
can varas.  For  land  measure  is  the  almud,  which  has  50  square  varas.  For 
weight,  the  tercio  of  150  pfunds.  The  carga  is  equivalent  to  300  pfunds. 


*  A  writer  in  the  Bombay  Times  gives  the  following  illustrations  of  their  difference:  In 
Bombay  the  seer  is  equivalent  to  but  11  oz.,  3.16  dr.  avoirdupois;  it  weighs  exactly  30  pice; 
and  while  the  maund  of  40  seers  is  equal  to  28  Ibs.,  the  seer  for  liquid  is  1  lb.,  8  oz.,  8£  dr. 
At  Ahmedabad  the  seer  is  1  lb.,  14  dr.  At  Ahmednuggur  it  is  1  lb.,  15  oz.,  8  dr.;  that  of 
capacity,  2  lb.,  11  oz.,  6  dr.  At  Dhwar,  the  kucha  seer  is  8  oz.,  35  dr.,  but  the  packa  is  2  Ibs., 
15  oz.,  11|  dr.  At  Poona  it  is  1.  lb.,  15  oz.,  8|  dr.  At  Nassick,  1  lb.,  15  oz.,  44-  dr..  but  at 
Surat  only  15  oz.  In  other  parts  of  India  there  is  the  same  wide  difference;  at  Mangalore, 
the  seer  weight  is  but  9  oz.,  13  dr.,  while  the  seer  of  capacity  is  equal  to  84  Bombay  rupees. 
At  Indore,  the  seer  is  2  Ibs.,  6f  drs.  At  Bungalore,  the  kucha  seer  is  10  oz.;  the  packa,  for 
grain,  is  2  Ibs.,  1  oz.,  lOf  drs.  At  Trichinopoly,  the  packa  seer  is  equal  to  1  lb.,  10  oz.  At 
Madras,  the  seer  is  1 1  oz.  only,  about  the  same  as  in  Bombay.  At  Calcutta,  the  seer  for  grain 
is  just  about  2  Ibs.  English  avoirdupois,  or  80  standard  tolas.  The  maund  weight  is  dependent 
upon  that  of  tho  seers,  40  of  the  latter  generally  making  up  the  maund,  though  this  is  not 
always  the  case.  Thus  at  Broach,  there  are  three  distinct  maunds,  one  weighing  40  Ibs.,  8 
oz.,  12  drs.;  another,  for  grain,  41  Ibs.,  9  oz.,  5  drs.,  and  a  third,  for  cotton,  43  Ibs.,  9  oz.,  9-J- 
drs.  So,  too,  at  Baroda,  there  are  42  seers  to  the  maund ;  at  Belgium,  40  seers,  weighing  26 
Ibs.,  3  oz.,  15  dr. ;  at  Poona,  there  are  three  descriptions  of  maunds.  one  of  2-i-  seers,  for  ghee, 
a  second,  of  40  seers,  for  metals,  and  a  third,  for  grain,  of  84  seers,  94  Ibs.,  9  o/.,  8  drs. 
Look  where  we  will,  we  find  the  same  diversity  of  weights  prevailing  in  every  large  Indian 
town,  and  a  particular  weight  generally  for  particular  commodities.  And  it  is  the  same  with 
measures  of  length.  This  great  diversity  of  standards  must,  of  necessity,  lead  to  much  fraud 
and  underhand  dealing,  and  it  is  seldom  that  the  standard  for  any  one  place  can  be  accurately 
known  or  even  discovered. 

f  In  the  draught  of  this  report,  as  first  proposed  in  the  special  commission,  it  was  stated 
(line  4,  page  22),  that  "  The  Confederate  Stales'1'1  had  expressed  a  desire,  &c.,  Sec. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Ruggles,  delegate  from  the  United  States  of  America,  the  words  quoted 
were  stricken  out,  and  the  words  "Some  cf  the  States"  inserted.  That  statement  may  be  true 
of  several  of  the  loyal  States.  S.  B.  E. 


71 


FREE  STATES  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA. 

The  unit  of  length  is  the  vara  (elle),  which  is  larger  than  the  Castilian, 
viz.,  0.866  metre.  The  road  measure  is  the  cuadra ;  the  league,  or  mile,  has 
40  cuadras,  or  6,000  varas,  equivalent  to  5,196  metres.  The  land  measure 
there  is  the  suerte  de  chacra,  which  is  19,600  square  varas;  for  corn  mea- 
sure, the  fanega,  equal  to  137.10  litres;  for  liquid,  there  is  the  frasco,  which 
is  equal  to  two  and  three-eighths  litres.  The  pound,  or  libra,  is  the  weight 
of  33  cubic  inches  of  distilled  water,  or  459.367  grams,  equal  to  1.01274 
English  avoirdupois. 

JAMAICA. 

The  same  as  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

CANADA. 

The  same  as  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  ell  of  Ij  yard  is  also  in  use. 
For  corn  measure  there  is  the  minot,  equal  to  39.025  litres. 

BRAZIL. 

The  measure  of  length  is  the  linha  of  10  pentos,  but  for  manufacturers, 
the  varsa  is  used,  of  1.1  metre.  The  corn  measure  is  the  moie,  which  has 
15  fangas  or  16  alqueres,  2-£  alqueres  being  equal  to  1  hectolitre.  The  liquid 
measure  is  the  pyre,  which  has  180  meddas,  and  the  meddas  is  equal  to  2.79 
litres.  The  unit  of  weight  in  Portugal  is  also  used  in  this  country. 

NT 

MAURITIUS. 

The  unit  of  length  is  the  praxes  of  15  Parisian  feet,  equal  to  16  English 
feet.  The  faden  fathom  is  5  Paris  feet;  the  arene  is  equal  to  1.191  metre. 
For  liquid  there  is  the  fass  cask  or  oxhoft  of  30  velts,  1  cask  460  gallons. 
The  unit  of  weight  is  the  old  Parisian  markweight.  The  ton  has  20  quin- 
tals, or  2,000  pfund. 

CHILI. 

On  the  24th  January,  1848,  the  metric  system  was  introduced.  Before 
that  time  the  old  Spanish  customs  were  in  force,  as  well  as  the  Valparaiso 
system. 

BRITISH  GUIANA. 

The  British  portion  has  the  English  weights  and  measures ;  the  French 
the  old  Parisian,  and  the  Dutch  the  old  Amsterdam. 

GUINEA,  WEST  AND  NORTH  AFRICA. 

The  unit  of  length  is,  in  all  "West  and  North  Africa,  the  pick  or  covado, 
equivalent  to  0.5775  metres.  Palm  oil  is  sold  in  Bonny  in  old  English 
puncheons;  in  Old  Calabar  in  the  tabb  or  kruh  of  10  old  English  wine  gal- 
lons. For  weight  the  Europeans  use  their  own. 


72 


WEST  INDIES. 

In  the  Little  Antilles,  in  Honduras  and  Bahamas,  the  English  weights  and 
measures  prevail ;  for  measures  of  capacity  the  old  English  is  used,  as  in  the 
United  States  of  North  America.  For  the  hundred  weight  100  pounds  are 
now  used.  In  St.  Bartholomew  the  Swedish  is  used. 

From  this  extensive  review  of  the  weights  and  measures  of  different  coun- 
tries, it  appears  that  the  United  Kingdom,  France,  Italy,  Spain,  Canada, 
Mexico,  the  free  states  of  South  America,  United  States,  Russia,  Belgium, 
Portugal,  Brazil,  Chili,  West  Indies,  Persia,  Guiana,  <fcc.,  have  adopted  a 
unit  of  length  equivalent  to  the  metre;  that  Germany,  Switzerland,  Sweden, 
Norway,  China  and  Japan  have  the  foot,  or  a  measure  equivalent  to  a  third 
of  the  metre  ;  and  that  India,  Africa  and  Turkey  have  a  measure  equivalent 
to  the  half  metre. 

We  are,  therefore,  justified  in  reporting  that  the  great  majority  of  nations 
have  found  it  necessary  and  useful  to  adopt  a  unit  of  length  equivalent  to 
the  metre.  Much  has  been  said  on  the  comparative  merits  of  the  metre  and 
the  foot  as  a  unit  of  length.  In  a  vast  variety  of  trades  the  foot  is  univers- 
ally used,  but  for  as  many  other  objects  the  yard  or  metre  is  general.  Dr. 
Karmarsh,  in  his  evidence  before  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
said  that  the  metre  is  a  length  much  more  commodious  for  use  than  the  foot. 
And  as  an  evidence  that  the  foot  is  too  small,  he  showed  that  when  we  mea- 
sure some  length  we  do  not  make  use  of  a  single  foot  rule,  but  of  a  rule 
which  is  three  or  four  feet,*1ind  we  have  to  multiply  by  three  or  four  to 
reduce  it  into  feet.  In  the  measure  of  cloth  the  metre  or  yard  is  generally 
used.  The  builders  in  Germany  make  use  of  the  ell  instead  of  the  foot, 
because  the  foot  is  too  small.  In  Saxony  the  builders  measure  all  objects  by 
the  ell  of  two  feet.  In  Austria  they  have  the  klafter  of  six  feet.  Again, 
the  subdivision  of  the  metre  is  much  more  commodious  for  use  than  that  of 
the  foot.  In  the  foot  we  have  twelve  inches ;  the  inch  is  too  large.  In 
measuring  many  things  we  must  join  to  the  inch  some  fractions  of  an  inch ; 
but  by  making  use  of  the  metre  we  have  the  centimetre,  which  is  so  small 
that  we  scarcely  want  fractions  of  it ;  and  for  smaller  things  we  have  the 
millimetre,  which  is  much  smaller  than  the  line,  or  the  eighth  of  an  inch. 

As  respects  the  subdivision  of  the  units,  we  find  that  — 

France,  Belgium,  Holland,  Switzerland,  Spain,  Portugal,  Greece,  Italy, 
Sweden,  China,  Japan,  India,  Chili  have  a  decimal  division ;  and 

The  United  Kingdom,  United  States,  Germany,  Russia,  Norway,  Den- 
mark, have  a  duodecimal  division,  though  in  some  of  them  the  weight  is 
decimally  divided. 

With  such  facts  before  us,  we  cannot  help  concluding  that  the  introduction 
of  the  metric  decimal  system  appears  to  be  the  most  consonant  with  the 
habits  and  tendencies  of  the  commercial  world.  And  that,  therefore,  in 


73 

endeavoring  to  introduce  uniformity  in  the  weights  and  measures  of  all  coun- 
tries, we  cannot  do  better  than  accept  that  system  which  has  already  made 
so  rapid  progress,  and  which  possesses  most  if  not  all  the  requisites  which 
are  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  commerce,  social  intercourse,  and  scientific 
computations.  It  appears,  moreover,  from  the  practice  of  most  countries 
that,  so  long  as  the  use  of  the  metric  system  was  allowed  to  be  voluntary 
or  optional  only,  the  measure  never  made  much  progress,  the  people  prefer- 
ring to  use  the  old  systems,  whatever  their  merits  or  defects,  and  that  there- 
fore the  success  of  the  measure  depends  on  its  compulsory  character. 

And  lastly,  that  although  in  most  countries  the  metric  weights  and  mea- 
sures have  been  introduced  with  their  Greek  and  Latin  nomenclature,  several 
countries  have  adopted  their  own  idiomatic  names,  whilst  in  France  and  other 
countries  the  old  names,  though  illegal,  are  still  freely  applied  to  the  new 
quantities. 

This  commission  is  strongly  of  opinion  that  in  whatever  country  the  metre 
is  introduced,  care  should  be  taken  not  to  encumber  it  with  any  other  sub- 
divisions than  its  decimals. 

In  conclusion,  the  commission  would  recommend  the  congress  to  resolve : 

1.  The  adoption  of  the  same  measure  in  international  commerce  is  of  the 
highest  importance.     The  metrical  system  appears  to  the  section  to  be  the 
most  convenient  of  all  the  measures  that  could  be  recommended  for  interna- 
tional measures. 

2.  The  arrangements  and  rules  to  be  followed  in  the  construction  of  the 
standards,  and  in  the  introduction  of  this  system,  should  be  confided  to  an 
international  commission,  which  should  also  be  charged  with  the  duty  of 
ascertaining  the  means  of  correcting  slight  defects  in  the  original  standards. 

3.  That  it  is  desirable  that  the  introduction  of  the  metrical  system  into 
any  country  which  accepts  it  should  be  made  compulsory  in  the  shortest 
practicable  period. 

4.  That  each  government  should  institute  a  department  of  weights  and 
measures,  to  superintend  the  introduction  of  the  metrical  system,  and  to  carry 
out  its  details,  or  to  devolve  the  duty  on  some  one  of  the  existing  depart- 
ments. 

COINAGE. 

Having  thus  dwelt  at  length  on  the  unit  of  weights  and  measures,  we  shall 
now  more  briefly  consider  the  question  of  coinage.  Some  uniformity  in  the 
coinage  of  different  countries  is,  indeed,  quite  as  necessary,  if  not  more  so, 
than  in  their  weights  and  measures.  Not  only  do  the  coins  intermix  them- 
selves in  almost  every  transaction  where  the  weights  and  measures  are  used, 
but  there  are  numberless  monetary  and  financial  operations  where  the  differ- 
ences now  existing  produce  peculiar  and  even  greater  injuries.  Moreover, 
it  would  be  of  great  advantage  to  establish  a  system  in  which  the  weights, 
measures,  and  coins  should  have  some  close  analogy  with  one  another. 
10 


74 

There  is  a  necessary  relation  between  the  different  parts  of  this  one  great 
question,  that  is,  between  the  instruments  by  means  of  which  commodities 
are  divided  and  distributed,  and  the  instruments  by  which  the  commo- 
dities so  divided  are  paid  for.  If,  therefore,  we  deal  with  the  coinage  sepa- 
rately, it  is  not  because  it  is  a  separate  question,  but  because  there  are 
difficulties  connected  with  the  coinage  which  do  not  exist  as  regards  weights 
and  measures.  The  first  difficulty  we  have  to  contend  with  is  the  difference 
in  the  monetary  standard,  a  large  number  of  countries,  by  far  the  largest 
number,  using  silver  as  a  standard,  and  other  countries  using  gold,  and  some 
both.  Abyssinia,  Costa  Rica,  Bremen,  China,  France,  Switzerland,  Denmark, 
India,  Japan,  Italy,  South  American  States,  Greece,  Russia,  Holland,  Sweden, 
Spain,  Turkey,  Prussia,  Germany  and  Persia  have  a  silver  standard ;  Great 
Britain,  Brazil,  Liberia,  Portugal,  New  Brunswick,  and  some  other  British 
colonies,  have  a  gold  standard ;  whilst  the  United  States  have  a  standard  of 
gold  and  silver. 

The  reason  why  these  latter  countries  have  preferred  gold  to  silver  is,  first, 
because  gold  is  the  more  costly  metal  of  the  two,  and  it,  therefore,  contains 
greater  value  in  small  bulk ;  and,  secondly,  because  the  cost  of  obtaining 
gold,  and,  consequently,  the  value  of  gold  varies  less  than  the  value  of  silver. 
So  long,  then,  as  some  countries  use  gold  and  other  countries  use  silver,  a 
uniform  system  of  coinage  is  very  difficult  to  realize ;  nor  do  we  see  the 
probability  that  for  the  present,  at  least,  the  different  countries  will  change 
their  custom  in  this  particular  simply  for  the  sake  of  uniformity.  It  has 
been  proposed  to  make  both  gold  and  silver  standards  of  value  for  all  coun- 
tries, or  to  have  a  double  standard,  but  the  great  objection  to  this  is  that  the 
standard  would  then  be  affected  by  variations  in  the  value  of  two  standards 
instead  of  one.  And,  moreover,  if  either  metal  be  cheapened  when  both 
are  made  legal  tender,  suppose  anything  to  happen  which  may  reduce  the 
value  of  either,  every  one  who  has  a  debt  to  discharge  will  prefer  paying  in 
the  cheaper  metal.  In  the  United  Kingdom  there  are  both  a  gold,  silver,  and 
copper  unit  —  the  pound,  the  shilling,  and  the  penny  —  but  the  silver  and 
the  copper  coins  are  only  subsidiary  coins,  and  it  is  fixed  by  law  that  each 
silver  coin  must  contain  a  certain  quantity  of  silver,  and  exchange  or  be 
equivalent  to  a  fixed  quantity  of  gold.  A  shilling  always  contains  the  same 
quantity  of  silver,  and  twenty  shillings  are  always  equivalent  to  one  sovereign. 
But  to  prevent  the  silver  being  melted  in  case  of  rise  in  value,  the  silver 
for  which  the  gold  sovereign  may  be  exchanged  would  not  in  reality  purchase 
the  quantity  of  gold  contained  in  the  sovereign.  The  same  regulations  exist 
as  to  the  copper  coinage  as  regards  silver. 

Another  difficulty  in  establishing  uniformity  in  the  coinage  of  nations  is 
the  difference  in  the  alloy.  Both  gold  and  silver,  when  pure,  are  very  soft 
and  easily  worn  away  by  use,  and  therefore  a  certain  quantity  of  copper  is 
added  to  give  these  metals  the  requisite  hardness.  In  the  United  Kingdom 


75 

one-twelfth  of  alloy  is  used,  that  is,  a  pound  troy  of  gold  consists  of  twenty- 
two  carats  in  twenty-four  parts  fine  and  two  of  alloy,  or  .917  fine.  A  pound 
troy  of  silver  consists  of  11  ounces  2  pennyweights  of  pure  silver  and  18 
pennyweights  of  alloy,  or  .925  fine.  In  other  countries  the  amount  of  alloy 
used  is  different.  In  France  and  the  United  States  of  America  the  propor- 
tion is  nine-tenths  pure  metal  to  one-tenth  alloy.  This  is  a  question  purely 
chemical.  In  both  silver  and  gold,  the  relation  of  nine-tenths  and  one-tenth 
is  certainly  as  good,  if  not  better,  than  eleven-twelfths  and  one-twelfth  ;  and 
the  only  difficulty  in  changing  the  alloy  in  gold  is  that  of  maintaining  in 
circulation,  at  the  same  time,  the  coinage  of  two  descriptions  of  fineness, 
whilst  there  would  be  some  difference  in  the  color  which  an  additional 
quantity  of  alloy  gives  to  the  gold  coin.  We  are  glad  to  learn  from  Mr. 
Graham,  master  of  the  mint  of  the  United  Kingdom,  that  no  practical  diffi- 
culty would  be  experienced  in  agreeing  to  the  common  rule  of  one-tenth 
alloy,  and  that  in  fact,  at  the  mint  at  Hong  Kong,  the  new  dollar  now  being 
coined  for  use  in  the  Chinese  market  will  be  nine-tenths  fine.  The  resolution 
adopted  at  the  last  congress,  on  this  part  of  the  question,  has  thus  received 
a  marked  illustration  of  its  practical  character. 

The  state  of  the  coinage  in  different  countries  may  best  be  seen  from  the 
following  tabular  statement,  principally  extracted  from  the  report  of  the 
British  commissioners  on  decimal  coinage  (see  next  and  consecutive  pages). 


76 


I. — Present  and  former 


Countries. 

Moneys  of  account 
by  law. 

Coins  in  circulation  by  law. 

Former  moneys  of  account. 

UNITED  KINGDOM,. 

Pound 
—  20  shillings. 
—  240  pence. 

Gold,  1  sovereign,  X  sovereign. 
Silver,  5s.,  2s.  6d.,  2s..  ls.,6d..  4d.,  3d. 
Copper,  penny,   half-penny,   far- 
thing. 

Gold  100,  50  *>0  10  5  frs 

—  100  centimes. 

Silver.  5,  2,  1  fr. 
50,  20  cents. 
Copper,  10,  5,  2,  1  c. 

Sou  —  12  deniers. 

ITALY,  

Lira  di  Piemonte 

Gold,  100  80  50  40  20  10  frs 

(or  franc.) 
—  100  centimes. 

Silver,  5,  2,  ],  tf.  X  fr. 
Mixed,  40.  20  cs. 
Copper,  5,  3,  1  cs. 

1.  Lira  —  20  sols, 
sol  —  12  deniers. 
Sardinia: 
2.  Lira  -  20  sols, 
sol  —  12  deniers. 
Liguria  : 
3.  Lira  —  20  sols, 
sol  —  12  deniers. 

BELGIUM,  

Franc 

—  100  centimes. 

Silver,  5,  2X,  2,  1  frs. 
50,  20  cs. 
Copper,  10,  5,  2.  1  c. 
French  coins  current 

schilling  —  12  gros. 
pros  —  8  deniers. 
denier  —  3  mittes. 
2.  Florin  —  20  sous, 
sou—  16  deniers. 
3.  Florin  de  Brabant  —  20  sous, 
sou  —  12  deniers. 
4.  Livre  tournois  —  20  sols, 
sol  —  12  deniers. 
5.  Florin  des  pays  Bas  —  100  cts. 

SWITZERLAND  

Franc 
—  100  centimes 
or  rappes. 

No  eold  coins. 
Silver,  5.  2,  1  frs. 
50  cs. 
Copper,  20,  10,  5,  2,  1  c. 

Each    of   the   twenty-two    cantons 
had  its  own   system,  and    conse- 
quently there  existed  a  great  va- 
riety.   The  principal  were  — 
1.  Franc  —  10  batz. 
batz  =-  10  rappes. 
2.  Florin  —  60  kreutzer. 
kreutzer  —  4  deniers. 
3.  Crown  —  25  batz. 

GERMANY,  

Silver,  1  thaler 

—  30  groschen. 

Copper,  groschen. 

Vereins  thaler. 

NETHERLANDS,  

| 

Guilder  (florin) 
—  100  cents. 
-  200  ^-cents. 

No  gold  coins. 
Silver,  2*,  1,  X  fls.;  25,  10,  5  cents. 
Copper,  1,  X  cents. 

Guilder  —  20  stivers. 
Stiver—  16  pennings. 

PORTUGAL,  

Reis 

1000-1  milreis 
Notation— 
1.000  :  000  *  000 
$  representing 
thousands, 
(:)  millions, 
(.)  thousands  of 
millions. 

Gold,  10,  5,  2,  1  milreis. 
Silver,  500,  200,  100,  50  reis. 
Copper,  20,  10  reis. 
English  sovereign  current  by  law 
at  4  milreis  500  reis. 

always  existed  with  a  duodecimal 
system  of  coins. 

77 


moneys  and  their  value. 


Comparative 
values. 

Former  coins. 

Date  of  change. 

Weight!  and  mea- 
sures,    decimal 
or  no? 

Intrinsic  value  of  coins. 

No. 

£  -  113  1-623  grs.  fine  gold. 
—  7*3224  grammes  no. 
Shilling  —  808-11  grs.  fine  silver. 
—  5  "1310  grammes  do. 

81  livres  -80  frs. 

Gold,  48-24  livres. 
Silver.  6*3  livres;  30, 
15.  24,  12,  6  sols. 
Copper,  2,  1  sols. 
2,  1  deniers. 

Decem'r  11.  1793. 
August  11,  1795. 
March  28,  1803. 

Decimal. 
The  metrical  sys- 
tem introduced 
in  1793. 

Franc  —  4*5  grammes  fine  silver. 
—  69*4456  grains       do 
—  '2903  grammes  fine  gold. 
—  4*48036  grains        do 
—  9'515«<1 
£  —  25  "2215  francs. 

1.  100-118*  of 
present. 

2.  100-193. 
3.  100-83K. 

Gold,  120,  60,  24,  12, 
6  lira. 
Silver,  6,  3,  IK,  Ksols. 
Copper,  7,  6,  2,  61,  5, 
2  deniers. 

Genoa  and  Sardinia 
had  also  their  dis- 
tinct coinage. 

Piedmont,  by  the 
French.      1793  ; 
suppressed  1814; 
re-established  in 
1816. 
Genoa,  1826. 
Sardinia,  1842. 

Decimal,  1845. 

Same  as  France. 

1.  -  12-69  frs. 

2.  -2-1164  frs. 
3.  -0-8571  frs. 
4.  —80-81  frs. 
5.  -2-1164  frs. 

43  coins  were  recog- 
nized as  legal  ten- 
ders by  act  of  De- 
cember    8,     1824  ; 
amongst         these 
were      the      legal 
coins  of  the  Ne- 
therlands. 

By  Napoleon,  1803. 
Suppress'  d  in  1816. 
Re-established  in 
1832. 

Decimal.  French 
metrical  system, 
1816. 

Silver  same  as  France. 
No  gold. 

1.  Franc  -1  '43  f. 
2.  Florin  -2-32. 
3   Crown  -3-57. 

Gold,2,l,Xlouis-d'or. 
8,  6,  5,  4.  3,  2. 
IX,  2X  ducats. 
Silver,  4,  2,  1,  X  frs. 
2,  1,  V.X,  M, 
flor. 
Besides  these,  French 
and  German  coins 
circulate  largely. 

1850-'52. 
Geneva,  1840. 

Mixed. 
Measures  decim'l. 
Weights  and   li- 
quid    measures 
not  decimal. 
Adopted  in  1835. 
Enforced  in  1857. 

Silver  same  as  France. 
No  gold. 

- 

1857 

Austrian,     deci- 
mal.     Other 
States,   1  thai. 
30  groschen. 

Vereins  thaler  l-30th  of  a  pound 
of  silver. 
—  IX  Austrian  florin. 
—  1*  Rhenish  florin. 
2  convention  thaler  piece,  value 
2  thalers  in  thaler  currency,  3 
in   Austrian,  and  3X  in  South 
German  currency. 

No  change  in 
value  of  unit. 

Gold,  16'5  guilds  ; 
Silver,3'3-0;3;l-10; 
1'8;    1;   2'2;    6'8  ; 
2-10;  0-12-8:  O'6-O; 
0-5-8;  0-2  ;0'1; 
Copper,  2  p. 

Besides  many  other 
provincial       coins 
too    numerous    to 
mention. 

Accounts,    1821  ; 
coins,  1851. 

Decimal,  1821. 

Silver: 
Guilder  —  9  '45  gram'es  fine  silver, 
-145-83  grains        do 
—  2'10  francs. 

No  gold. 

Silver,  I'OOO  milreis, 
480,    240,    120,    100, 
060,  050  reis. 
Copper,  020,  010,  005, 
reis. 
English    good,    cur- 
rent. 

July  29,  1854,  but 
not  yet  carried 
out. 

At  present  not  de- 
cimal.     French 
metrical  system 
to  be  established 
In  1862. 

Milreig  —  1  -6257  gram'es  fine  gold. 
—  25*  0.'9  grains          do 
-53-2&Z 

Silver  coined  as  a  token  at  the 
rate   of  66-95rf.    per  ounce   of 
English  standard  silver. 

78 


I. — Present  and  former  moneys 


Countries. 

Moneys  of  account 
by  law. 

Coin  in  circulation  by  law. 

Former  moneys  of  account. 

RUSSIA,       .  .'  

Ruble 

Gold,  10'30,  5'15,  3'09. 

Banco  rubles  =  100  copecks 

=  100  copecks. 

Silver,  1'50,  V  75  rubles. 
75.  50,  30,  25,  20,  15,  10  copecks. 
Copper,  10,  5,3,  2,  1,  >*,  M  c. 

A  decimal  system  has  always  ex- 
isted. 

Drachme 

Gold,  20  dr 

Phoenix  —  100  lepta 

—  lOOlepta. 

Silver,  5,1,  K,  ^  dr. 
Copper,  1(1,  5.  2,  1  lepta. 
English,  Turkish,  and  French  gold 
circulates  at  values  fixed  by  law. 

UNITED  STATES,  .  .  . 

Dollar 
—     10  dimes. 
—   100  cents. 
—  1000  mills. 
Virtually  only- 
dollar  =  100  cents. 

Gold,  20,  10.  5.  3,  2^,  1  ds. 
Silver,  50.  25.  10,  5,  3  c. 
Copper,  1  c.,  >£c. 

1.  £  ft.  d.  currency  varying  in  value 
in  the  different  States  to  the  amount 

2.  Dollars   and  reals,    the   Spanish 
coinage. 

II. —  Causes  of  change 


Countries. 

Causes  of  change. 

Inconveniences,  if  any,  of  for- 
mer system,  and  by  what 
classes  felt. 

Reasons  for  selecting  the  new 
system. 

FRANCE,  

1.  A  wish  for  unity.    It  was 

1.  By  all  classes. 

A  marked  preference  for  a  de- 

1. Ambassador. 
2.  M.  Chevalier. 
3.  M.  Delessert. 
4.  Commercial 
Agent. 
5.  M.  St.  Hilaire. 

part  of  a  great  system  com- 
prising weights   and   mea- 
sures. 
3.  To  simplify  the   system  of 
moneys,       and        perhaps 
through  hatred  of  existing 
order  of  things. 
5.  The  confusion  in  the  pro- 
vinces,  and    a  desire  for 
uniformity. 

2,  3,  5.  The  inconvenience  of 
a  non-decimal  system  felt  by 
merchants  and  employees  of 
finance. 
4.  None. 

cimal  system. 
The  adoption  of  the  unit  was 
connected  with  the  metrical 
system. 

ITALY,  

The  French  introduced  their 

Great  inconvenience  was  felt 

The  French  occupation,  and 

1.  H.  M.  Minister 
at  Turin. 
2.  Cattaneo.inten- 
dent  of  the  mint. 
3.  M.  Despine.  in- 
spector weights 
and     measures, 
Turin. 

system   in    1793;    this   was 
suppressed  in  1814,  but  the 
habits    contracted     during 
the  French  occupation,  and 
the  evident  advantages  of 
a  uniform  monetary  system 
were  the  causes  of  its  re- 
establishment. 

in  returning  to  the  system 
which  existed  before  the 
French,  occupation. 

the  constant  intercourse  with 
France,  had  rendered  the 
new  money  familiar  to  the 
public,  and  induced  the  wish 
to  assimilate  the  currency 
with  that  of  France. 

BELGIUM, 

Before    1803    there    were    at 

The   first    svstem   was   intro- 

1. Minister   at 
Brussels. 
2.  Through  T.  Bar- 
ing, Esq.,  M.  P. 
3.  Through,  minis- 
ter. 

their   system    during  their 
occupation     in     1803.      In 
1816,    at   the   formation  of 
the    Kingdom   of  the    Ne- 
therlands, the  Dutch  guil- 
der  was   adopted   for   the 
whole  country.    At  the  se- 
paration   of    Belgium,    in 
1830,  the  adoption  of  a  mo- 
netary  system   was    again 
the   subject    of   considera- 
tion. 

least    four    different    legal 
systems  of  account.    The  in- 
conveniences were    felt   by 
all  classes.    The  number  of 
coins  led  to  confusion  and 
complexity.    Losses  fell   on 
working  classes. 
There  does  not  appear  to  have 
been   any   practical    incon- 
venience in  the  system  that 
was  adopted  in  1816  to  1830. 

duced  by  the  French  for  sake 
of  unity. 
At  the  last  change,  in  1832,  the 
French  system  was  chosen, 
in  order  to  facilitate  commer- 
cial   relations  with  France, 
and  in  order  to  return  to  the 
principle    of    unity    which 
characterizes    the     French 
system. 

79 


and  their  values. — ( Continued). 


Comparative 
values. 

Former  coins. 

Date  of  change. 

Weights  and  mea- 
sures,    decimal 
or  no? 

Intrinsic  value  of  coins. 

2   banco    rubles 
-  7  rubles. 

Coins  same  as  at  pre- 
sent ;  but  to  avoid 
;iL'i<>,  values  chuu- 
ged. 

1839. 

Not  decimal 

Ruble  -  17-99  gram'es  fine  silver. 
—  277  '62  grains         do 
—  4  francs. 
Imperial  -  10'30  rubles. 
—  12  grammes  fine  gold. 
—  185'18                 do 
Ruble  -38'18d. 

93   phoenix  —  100 
drachme. 

Silver  phoenix    and 
30-lepta  piece. 
Turkish    coins    cur- 
rent. 

1836. 

Decimal  by  law, 
1S36,  but  not  in 
use. 
Old  Turkish  sys- 
tem in  use. 

Drachme  —  4  '0293  grammes   fine 
silver. 
—  62*18  grains      do 
—  (T8954  francs. 

A   mixture   of  Eng- 
lish,         Spanish, 
French,  and  Por- 
tugese coins. 

1785. 
Issues  of  coin  1795. 
The  Continental 
Congress,    early 
in    the    revolu- 
tionary       war, 
issued        paper 
money,  of  which 
the    dollar  was 
the  unit. 

Not  decimal. 
Same  as  in  Eng- 
land. 

Dollar  —  23  '22  grains  fine  gold. 
-49'32cf. 

Silver  coined  as  a  token  at  the 
rate   of  (53.3»kf.   per  ounce  of 
English  standard  silver. 

and  its  results. 


Was  the  change  compul- 
sory and  immediate  ? 

Has  it  been  effectual  ? 

Was  it  unpopular  ;  if  so, 
with  whom  ? 

Is  the  present  a  system 
more  convenient  thau 
the  former. 

For   private   persons   the 
change  was  not  obliga- 
tory. 
There  was  no  penalties  to 
enforce  it  till  1837. 
The   introduction   of  the 
new  coins  was  very  slow. 
The  old  system  continued 
in  use  many  years  in  pro- 
vinces—less so  in  Paris. 

2.  Sou  is  still  used  by  small 
shopkeepers. 
4.  Everybody  uses  the  new 
system  ;  sou  used  instead 
of  5  cents. 
5.  In  some  parts  of  France, 
Brittany,  and  Auvergne, 
the  old  system  has  been 
preserved. 

8.  Popular  with  all,  save  a 
few. 
3.  Yes  ;   with  lower  classes 
at  first,  but  not  at  present. 
2,4.  No. 
5.  Yes  :  with-ignorant  classes. 

1,  2,  4,  5.  Far  more  conve- 
nient, especially  in  keep- 
ing accounts. 
3.  Yes;    except     in    small 
transactions,     for    which 
a   duodecimal   system   is 
preferred  by  many. 

The  change  was  so  far  gra- 
dual that  the  public  had 
been  accustomed  to   it 
from    the  time   of   the 
French  occupation.     It 
was  made  compulsory  in 
1827,    and    enforced    by 
fine  of  50  francs. 

The  old  system  continued 
in  use  concurrently  with 
the  new  many  years.  At 
present,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Noverese  and 
Lisruira,  the  new  is  gen- 
erally adopted.  At  Ge- 
noa lower  classes  and  re- 
tail dealers  use  old  de- 
nominations, and  some- 
times merchants'  books 
are  kept  in  double  co- 
lumns. 

Unpopular  with  lower  classes 
at  the  outset,  but  they  are 
gradually  becoming  famil- 
iar with  the  new  system. 
2.  It  caused  no  popular  dis- 
turbance,    and    was    re- 
ceived generally  with  ease. 

More   convenient  both   in 
large  and  small  transac- 
tions. 
Sums  are  more  easily  divid- 
ed, multiplied,  or  added 
up. 

The    ancient  coins  were 
gradually        withdrawn 
from  circulation. 
The  change  was  not  obliga- 
tory for  private  transac- 
tions. 
For  a  long  time  every  one 
kept  his  accounts  in  the 
moneys     he     preferred 
without   inconvenience, 
the  different  moneys  be- 
ing valued  by  law. 

1,  3.  The  change  has  not 
yet   been    radical    and 
complete. 
Small  sums  connected  with 
country    people's    daily 
dealings  are  reckoned  in 
guilders,  stivers,  or  cents. 
Cent  is  used  by  them  to  de- 
signate 2  centimes. 
2.  People  are  still  obliged 
to  have  tables  of  reduc- 
tion of  various  moneys, 
past  and  present. 

None  of  the  changes  appear 
to  have  been  unpopular. 
The    country    was    already 
accustomed    to    the    new 
system.      There    was     no 
commotion. 

1.  Far     more     convenient 
than    that     anterior    to 
1800.  as  well  in  small  as  in 
large  accounts. 
2.  The  advantages  of  a  de- 
cimal system  need  scarce- 
ly be  pointed  out. 
3.  A    uniform    system    has 
been    substituted    for    u 
multiplicity  of  coins. 

80 


II. —  Games  of  change  and 


Countries. 

Causes  of  change. 

Inconveniences,  if  any,  of  for- 
mer system,    and   by   what 

Reasons  for  selecting  the  new 
system. 

classes  felt. 

SWITZERLAND  

1.  The  necessity  of  change, 
caused    by  the  circulation 

1.  The  lower  classes  suffered 
from    being    compelled    to 

1.  A  change  being  decided  on, 
Switzerland     WHS      thought 

1.  Federal  Council. 

of     French    and     German 

accept  these  coins  at  more 

too  small    a  country  for   a 

2.  Messrs.    Marcu- 

coins  at  excessive  values. 

than  their  value.  > 

separate  system,  and  had  to 

ard  &  Co.,  Berne. 

The  quantity  of  base  bul- 

2. Inconvenience   in  account 

choose  between  French  and 

3.  M.       Trumpler, 
Zurich. 
4.  Captain    Pictet, 
consul,  Geneva. 

lion  current. 
2.  The  confusion  of  the  differ- 
ent monetary  systems  of  the 
cantons. 

keeping   of  former  system, 
and  in  paying  and  receiving. 

German.    Her  dealings  with 
France  were  the  largest,  and 
Geneva  had  already  adopted 
the  German  system. 

3.  The   desire   to    have   one 

kind  of  money,  that  of  one 

of  the  neighboring  States. 

NETHERLANDS,  

1.  A  prevailing  opinion  that 
the  decimal  system  would 

1.  Great  confusion  and  incon- 
venience were  experienced 

The  florin  was  retained  as  the 
unit,  but  was  decimally  di- 

I. Sir  J.H.Turing, 

be  beneficial  for  arithmeti- 

in having  too  many  coins  of 

vided  ;  the  excellent  work- 

Bart., consul  at 

cal  purposes,  Ac. 

different    practical   values  ; 

ing  of  the  decimal   system 

Rotterdam. 

2.  The   deterioration   of  the 

felt,  in  paying  and  receiving. 

in    France    being    acknow- 

2. J.        Annesley, 
Esq..  consul    at 
Amsterdam. 

coin  by  unlawful  practices 
(clipping)   and  the  greater 
convenience  of  the  decimal 

and  also  in  account  keeping. 
2.  Chiefly  by  laboring  classes. 

ledged,   and  the  new  mode 
of  calculation   having  been 
familiar,    by  instruction    at 

system. 

the  public  schools. 

GREECE,  

The  phoenix  was  adopted  at 

No  inconvenience  was  felt,  as 

The  phoenix  did  not  contain 

H.  M.  Minister  at 

the   separation   of  Greece 
from  Turkey,  by  President 

neither  the  phoenix  nor  the 
drachme  have  ever  existed 

the  legal  quantity  of  silver. 

Athens. 

Capodistrias.       When    the 

in    quantities    sufficient    to 

government  was  settled  it 

meet    the    requirements   of 

was  necessary  again  to  fix 

trade. 

on  a  monetary  system. 

UNITED  STATES,.... 

1.  T.  R.  Snowden, 
Esq..  director  of 

1.  The  necessity  and  the  con- 
stitutional    duty    imposed 
on  Congress  of  establishing 
a  uniform  currency  for  the 

1.  The  different  value  assign- 
ed  to   the  old  currency  in 
the    several    States    which 
created  inconvenience  and 

1.  The   people   were    familiar 
with     the     Spanish     dollar. 
The  decimal  division   of  it 
was  the  result  of  an  abstract 

mint  of  United 

States  at  the  separation  of 

confusion,     and     the   com- 

preference   for    a    decimal 

States. 

the  States  from  the  mother 

plexity  of  a   system   which 

system. 

2.  Edw'd  Everett, 
Esq. 

country. 
2.  The  uncertain  valuation  of 
foreign   coins  which   filled 

has   an   irregular    ratio    of 
multiplication  and  division. 
Felt  by  all  classes  in  paying 

2.  The  dollar  was  not  adopted 
from  any  preference  of  the 
decimal   system,  for  it  was 

the  channels  of  circulation. 

and  receiving  and  account 

not  so  divided. 

and  the  superior  simplicity 
of  the  decimal  notation. 

keeping. 
2.  All  the  inherent  inconven- 

The    decimal     system     was 
adopted  from  considerations 

iences  of  the  pound  sterling 

of  convenience  and  simpli- 

and its  subdivisions,  with  the 

city. 

additional  complications  of 

the  various  colonial  curren- 

cies. 

81 


its  results. — ( Continued.) 


Was  the  change  compul- 
sory and  immediate  ? 

Has  it  been  effectual  ? 

Was  it  unpopular:  if  so, 
with  whom? 

Is   the   present    a    system 
more     convenient     than 
the  former? 

Each  canton  fixed  a  day 

1.  Yes  ;  with  the  exception 

1.  There   was,   at  first,    an 

1.  The  uniformity  through- 

for the  change,  and  pro- 

of lowest  classes  in  the 

aversion  on  part  of  those 

out  the  cantons  has  ren- 

hibited the  use  of  the  old 

agricultural        districts, 

cantons      bordering      on 

dered    transactions     far 

system. 

where  "batz"   are  still 

Germany     to      use     the 

more  easy,  as  is  also  the 

The  old  system  continued 

spoken  of. 

French  system,  but  it  has 

case  with  France. 

to  be  in    use   at   cattle 
fairs    and    markets  till 

The  new  system  is  exposed 
to  this  danger,  that  the 

gone  off.    and  people  are 
well  satisfied. 

2.  The  numerous  subdivis- 
ions of  the  unit  facilitate 

recently. 

silver   coinage   is   being 

2.  Popular,  because   it  was 

small  transactions. 

replaced  by  French  gold, 

well  understood. 

which  is  not   "  en    rap- 

port" with  the  metrical 

system. 

The   change   in   accounts 
was  compulsory  and  im- 
mediate, and  enforced  by 
law. 

1.  In    popular    language, 
among  the  lower  classes 
only.    The   old  denomi- 
nations are  still  used,  but 

1.  The  change  was   accom- 
Elished    without    unpopu- 
irity  or  uneasiness. 
2.  Rather     unpopular    with 

Certainly  more  convenient 
both  in  large  and  small 
payments. 

The   old   system  was   en- 

rarely. 

unlettered   and   old;   but 

tirely  discontinued. 

2.  Most  effectual. 

this     feeling     has     been 

The  coins  were   changed 

transitory. 

gradually. 

The  Dutch  are  for  the  most 

part   opposed   to   innova- 

tions. 

Immediate  and  compulsory. 
The  use  of  old  or  Turkish 

Accounts  are  now  univer- 
sally  kept   in    drachme 

The  change  was  decidedly 
popular. 

If  the  coins  really  existed 
it  would  be  very  conve- 

was under  penalty  of  fine 
and    confiscation  ;    but, 
notwithstanding  this,  ac- 

and lepta,  except  in  some 
of  the  border  villages  of 
northern    Greece.      The 

nient  ;  as  it  is,  there  is  in- 
convenience, for  the  cop- 
per coinage  only  exists, 

counts    were    kept    for 

copper  coins  only  are  in 

and  every  denomination 

several  years  in  piastres 

existence;    no    gold  or 

of  foreign  coin  circulates 

and  paras. 

silver. 

at  values  fixed  by  law. 

Compulsory  and  immedi- 

1. Effectual,  as  to  abandon- 

1. The  change  was  popular 

1.  Far     more    convenient.. 

ate  for  all  federal  courts 
and  offices.    The  law  did 
not  operate  in  respect- 

ment of  pound    sterling 
and  use  of  dollars  and 
cents,  but  not  as  to  use  of 

with  all  classes,  but  not- 
withstanding the  habits  of 
the     people     were     very 

The    unit  is    sufficiently 
large  to  be  represented  in 
a  gold  coin,  and  its  hun 

ive    State    goverments. 
These  came  to  the  aid  of 
the  federal  government 
by    special     legislation, 
but  at  intervals  varying 
from  two  to  twenty  ye'rs, 

mills.    Fractions  of  cents 
are  expressed  hinarily. 
The    old     Spanish    silver 
coinage  of  one-quarter, 
one-eighth,  one-sixteenth 
of  a   dollar,    expressing 

slowly      supplanted,      al- 
though the  advantages  of 
the  new  system  were  unan- 
imously conceded. 
2.  The  simplicity  and  beauty 
of     the    decimal     system 

dredth     part     is     smaL 
enough  to  represent  the 
least  price  at  which  it  is 
desired  to  sell  by  retail. 
2.  There  is  some  trifling  in- 
convenience in  the  con- 

and    consequently    the 
banishment   of  the   old 

twenty-five,   twelve-and- 
a-half,  six-and-a-quarter 

were  immediately  felt   by 
all.    The  change  not  being 

current  popular  use  of  the 
binary  divisions    of   the 

pound     unit     was    but 

cents,  still  circulate  and 

compulsory,    could    have 

dollar,  but  these  are  in- 

slowly effected. 

are  used  in  market  trans- 

aggrieved no  one. 

stantly    converted     into 

2.  It  was   compulsory  on 

actions. 

cents    in    the     mind     of 

public  officers,  but  on  no 

2.  It  was  gradually  adopted 

buyer  and  seller. 

others. 

by  the  people,  but  one 

occasionally    hears    the 

old   denominations,   be- 

cause we  retain  the  coins 

one'quarter,  one-eighth. 

one-sixteenth,  of  a  dollar. 

Shopkeepers  more  readily 

.  * 

say  two  shillings  and  six- 

pence than  thirty-seven- 

and-a-half  cents. 

11 


82 

The  evidence  and  opinions  here  collected,  confirmed  as  they  are  by  the 
expressed  opinions  of  most  of  the  members  of  the  commission,  may  suffice 
to  warrant  the  conclusions  of  the  last  international  statistical  congress.  1st. 
As  to  the  general  recommendation  of  the  decimal  system  of  money  and 
accounts ;  and,  secondly,  as  to  advising  a  common  degree  of  fineness  in  gold 
and  silver  coins.  They  may  serve  also  as  an  answer  to  the  last  questions  as 
to  what  inconveniences  have  resulted  from  the  changes  in  any  country  in 
which-  the  decimal  system  of  coinage  has  been  adopted.  It  seems  to  be 
almost  universally  admitted  that  no  difficulty  has  been  experienced  and  no 
practical  inconveniences  have  been  felt  in  effecting  these  changes.  Many 
arguments  have  been  produced  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  the  franc  as  a 
universal  money  unit  based  upon  the  metric  system,  such  as — 

1.  Its  very  extensive  use  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  its  adoption  by 
several  nations  in  lieu  of  their  former  system,  as  in  France,  Belgium,  Switzer- 
land, Italy. 

2.  The  division  of  the  franc  into  100  parts  allows  of  the  greatest  accuracy 
and  minuteness  in  computations  of  small  values,  whilst,  if  a  new  denomina- 
tion were  given  to  the  value  of  100  francs,  it  would  greatly  facilitate  the 
comprehension  of  great  money  transactions,  whether  in  trade  or  finance. 
The  increase  of  commerce  all  over  the  world,  the  large  amount  of  govern- 
ment loans  or  funds,  and  the  capitals  of  great  commercial  enterprises,  all 
seem  to  require  a  unit  even  higher  than  the  £  sterling,  by  which  they  could 
be  more  simply  and  briefly  expressed. 

3.  The  largest  denomination,  100  fr.,  might  be  called  either  a  sovereign,  a 
royal,  or  imperial,  or  any  other  name  preferred,  in  different  countries,  pro- 
vided the  value  remains  the  same.     The  international  decimal  system  would 
then  be — 

The  royal, lOOfr. 

The  franc, Ifr. 

The  cent,  Olfr. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  in  the  price  currents  in  the  British  markets,  we 
constantly  find  quotations  made  in  shillings  up  to  about  80  shillings  or  100 
francs. 

4.  That  as   the  metric  system  of  weights   and  measures  is  gradually 
extending,  it  is  evidently  of  importance  that  the  value  of  coins  should  be 
expressed  in  weights  of  the  system  likely  to  be  most  popular  and  best 
understood. 

5.  The  advantage  which  it  has,  in  common  with  any  other  system  which 
might  be  adopted  for  one  universal  currency,  would  be  the  saving  in  the  cost 
and  risk  of  transfer  of  the  precious  metals  from  one  country  to  another,  and 
of  the  cost  of  constant  recoinage ;  the  rapidity  of  transfer  of  coins  where- 
ever  needed  by  the  exigencies  of  trade  or  finance  without  the  delay  of  con- 


83 

version  into  a  new  currency,  and  the  time  gained  in  general  and  commercial 
education. 

6.  Lastly,  the  point  which  more  especially  concerns  this  statistical  congress 
is  the  great  facility  that  would  be  given  by  this  system  for  the  study  of  the 
comparative  statistics  of  all  countries. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  these  arguments  in  its  favor,  we  cannot  hope  to 
overcome  the  obstacles  to  the  universal  adoption  of  the  metrical  or  any  one 
system  of  money.  We  may,  however,  venture  to  propose  an  alternative 
somewhat  in  advance  of  the  conclusions  of  the  last  congress.  Having  agreed 
that  the  unit  of  money  in  each  country  should  be  decimally  subdivided,  we 
might  urge  the  importance  of  such  slight  alterations  in  the  weight  of  the  pure 
metal  in  current  coins  as  would  bring  them  under  the  metrical  system  of 
weights,  and  would  render  them,  by  a  simple  multiplication  or  division, 
exchangeable  for  current  coins  of  other  countries  containing  corresponding 
weights  of  pure  metal — gold  or  silver.  Thus,  as  an  example,  the  English 
sovereign  in  gold,  equal  to  20  shillings  in  silver,  contains  123.274  troy  grains, 
with  1-1 2th  alloy.  The  pure  gold,  consequently,  is  113.002  troy  grains  = 
7.322  grammes.  The  gold  Napoleon  of  France,  equal  to  20  francs  in  silver, 
weighs  6.452  grammes,  with  l-10th  alloy,  containing  5.807  grammes  pure 
gold;  consequently, 

5.807     :     20     :  :     7.322     :     25.22 

To  reduce  the  English  sovereign  to  a  weight  of  pure  gold  exactly  equiva- 
lent to  25  francs  in  silver — 

Grammes.      Grammes. 

25.22     :     25     :  :     7.322     :     7.258 
a  reduction  of  about  64  milligrammes  would  be  necessary. 

On  the  other  hand,  to  raise  l£  Napoleon  in  gold  to  the  exact  weight  of 
the  English  sovereign,  5.807  X  l£  =  7.258,  would  require  an  addition  of  64 
milligrammes  of  pure  gold  to  the  weight. 

Admitting  that,  to  suit  the  customs  or  convenience  of  different  nations, 
more  than  one  unit  of  money  is  desirable,  we  may  yet  agree  to  restrict  them 
to  a  very  small  number,  and  that  these  should  be  convertible,  by  a  simple 
calculation,  from  one  into  the  other.  Thus,  the  franc,  the  florin,  the  dollar, 
and  the  £  sterling  might  be  allowed  as  units,  the  coins  to  be  in  all  cases 
nine-tenths  fine,  and  decimally  subdivided,  and  the  weight  of  pure  metal  to 
be  the  equivalent  weights  in  the  metric  system.  By  multiplication  or  division 
by  a  single  figure,  and  the  proper  placing  of  the  decimal  point,  values  to  any 
amount  in  one  of  these  monetary  systems  might  then  be  reduced  to  ^ihe 
equivalent  values  in  any  other  of  them,  as  shown  in  the  following  comparison : 


84 


Coins. 

Weight. 

"Weight  of 
pure  metal. 

EQUIVALENT   VALUE. 

£1  sterling. 

1  dollar. 

1  florin. 

1  franc. 

Multiplied  by— 

Franc 

Grammes. 
5 
12.5 
25 
(In  gold,  to  be 
adjusted.) 

Grammes. 
4.5 
11.25 
22.5 

L. 

.04 
.1 
.2 

.2 
.5 

5 

.4 

2 
10 

10-4 
5 

100-4 

Dollar,  

£>  sterling      .  .  .  •] 

r 

By  this  means  the  various  countries  would  have  such  a  choice  of  a  money 
unit  as  might  be  found  most  convenient  for  general  use,  or  the  habits  of  the 
people,  and  yet  the  greatest  facility  would  be  given  in  commercial  calcu- 
lations, and  in  providing  a  system  of  coins  interchangeable  in  different 
countries. 

We  have  good  authority  for  supposing  that  the  English  sovereign,  now  so 
extensively  used  as  money  of  account^  is  likely  to  be  greatly  displaced  by  a 
coin  which  has  always  been  popular.  The  dollar,  so  much  used  in  eastern 
commerce,  is  about  to  be  coined  in  the  mint  of  Hong  Kong,  and  will,  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose,  be  the  principal  current  coin,  as  well  as  money  of 
account,  in  the  extensive  trade  with  China.  No  doubt  it  will  thence  be 
largely  used  in  the  Indian  commerce,  so  closely  connected  with  that  of 
China.  To  what  extent  it  may  eventually  displace  the  English  £  sterling, 
especially  if  an  equivalent  gold  coin  be  introduced  into  this  country,  it  is 
difficult  to  say ;  but  from  the  numerous  countries  in  which  the  dollar,  or  a 
coin  nearly  equal  to  the  five-franc  piece  of  France,  has  been  the  leading  coin, 
it  is  likely  to  assume  a  very  important  position.  It  therefore  becomes  of  the 
utmost  consequence  to  inquire  if  this  new  coin,  and  others  bearing  the  samo 
name  and  nearly  equivalent  value,  could  not  be  in  all  cases,  made  of  the 
same  weight  in  silver  as  the  five-franc  piece  of  France,  viz.,  25  grammes  of 
nine-tenths  fine  and  one-tenth  alloy. 


86 


The  following  table  shows  the  current  coins  of  different  countries  which 
expressed  in  grammes,  and  the  value  in  francs,  (being 


Country. 

GOLD. 

SILVER. 

Coins  nearly  equal  to  the  sovereign  or  Napoleon, 

Dollar. 

Coins. 

Weight,  in 
grammes. 

Fineness. 

it 

>• 

Coins. 

France,  ) 

Napoleon—  20  francs. 
5  francs. 

25 

6.451 
1.612 

8.062 

.900 
.900 

20  ) 

- 

25  ) 

5  franca. 

Belgium,  f 

Italy                                     ..  4 

Switzerland                            / 

Convention  thaler, 
6  livres,  
Convention  thaler, 
Crown,  

Doppia  . 

6.320 
9.744 
7.181 
6.60 
8.336 
6.878 

.908 
.771 
.917 
.896 
.9QD 
.902 

19.76 
25.66 
25.20 
25.32 
25.84 
21.37 

Carolin  .         . 

Great  Britain,  
Denmark     . 

Sovereign,  
Frederic  (1848),  

Rix  thaler  

Spain,  

Doubloon  (100  reals,)  
10  florins     

Dollar  

Baden                                         . 

Rix  thaler,  

Rix  thaler     .     .. 

Hesse  Ca^sel 

Pistole       

6.650 
6.700 

.900 
.900 

20.50 
20.72 

Hesse  Darmstadt 

Double  pistole 

2  florins,  

2thaler,  

Greece 

20  drachmes,  

5.760 

.900 

17.82 

5  drachmes,  

Rix  thaler,  

Holland 

10  florins  . 

6.729 

8.867 
6.682 
5.471 
6.545 
6.670 

.900 
.917 
.903 
.917 
.916 
.900 

20.85 
28. 
20.78 
17.28 
20.66 
20.75 

2X  gulden,      .    . 

Portugal,    

Half  couronne,  (5,000  reals) 
Frederic,.  .         

Prussia  

Rix  thaler,  

Pistole  

Scudo,  

Half  imperial 

Saxony,  

5  thalers,  

Thaler,  

Rix  thaler  . 

Specie,  

Turkey, 

100  piastreSi                  .... 

7.191 

.916 

22.68 

20  piastres,  
Rix  thaler,  .. 

I>vpt,  .           

New  double  sequin,  

8.600 
8.358 

.875 
.900 

25.80 
25.91 

New  piastre,  
Dollar,  

United  States  of  America,.  .  .  . 
Mexico 

5  dollars  

Piastre,  

Guatemalo,  

do. 

do  

do  

Chili,  

Peru 

do  

Bolivia  

do  

Brazil,  

10  000  reals,.     .             .... 

8.963 
5.832 

.917 
.917 

28.30 
18.41 

2,000  reis,  

India  (British)   .. 

87 


correspond  the  nearest  to  one  or  other  of  the  preceding  units,  the  weight  being 
the  equivaknt  value  of  the  pure  metal  contained  therein.) 


Dollar, 

Florin. 

Franc. 

Weight  in 
grammes. 

Fineness. 

jl 

Coin. 

Weight,  in 
grammes. 

Fineness. 

.2 

"*  OB 

aTq 

1* 

Coin. 

Weight,  in 
grammes. 

Fineness. 

"A 

**£ 
> 

1 

25 

28.074 
25.986 
28.064 
28.251 
26.800 
26.290 
21.212 
28.064 

.900 

5 

2.50  francs. 

12.50 

.900 

2.50 

Franc. 

5 

.900 

.833 
.900 
.833 
.925 
.S3:J 
.900 
.900 
.833 

5.19 

5.20 
5.19 
5.81 
4.96 
5.25 
4.24 
5.19 

Florin, 

14.032 
12.993 
10.606 
11.300 

13.145 

10.606 

10.606 
10.606 
10.606 

.833 
.900 
.900 
.925 

.900 

.900 

.900 
.900 
.900 

2.60 
2.60 
2.12 
2.32 

2.62 

2.12 

2.12 
2.12 
2.12 

4.  as 

4.331 
5.650 
5.258 

4.476 

5 

5.360 

5.790 
6.017 

6.682 
5 

6.373 
5.832 

.900 
.900 

.925 
.900 

.900 

.917 
.900 

.875 
.830 

.900 
.900 

.917 

917 

0.86 
0.86 

1.16 
1.05 

0.90 

1.02 
1.05 

1.12 
1.11 

1.33 
1 

1.30 
1.18 

3  livres 

Lira 

Florin,  

Shilling  

do 

Half  dollar 

Peseta                         .  . 

Gulden  or  florin,  .  . 

Gulden  or  florin,., 
do 
do 

29.233 
18.560 
21.212 

.889 
.900 
.900 

5.78 
3.71 
4.24 

37.120 
22.385 
29.213 
25 

.900 
.900 
.878 
.945 

7.42 
4.48 
5.70 
5.26 

Florin,  

10.766 
12.500 

13.416 
10.362 

.898 
.917 

.900 

.878 

2.14 
2.55 

2.65 
2.00 

2  testons,  

5  testons,  

22.271 
26.835 
20.724 
22.271 
33.925 
28.949 
24.068 
28.064 
24 
26.729 
27 
27 
25 
25 
25 
27 
27 
27 
25.495 

.750 
.900 
.878 
.750 
.750 
.875 
.830 
.833 
.830 
.900 
.903 
.903 
.900 
.900 
.900 
.903 
.903 
.875 
.917 

3.71 
5.36 
4.00 
3.71 
5.66 
5.63 
4.45 
5.19 
4.40 
5.34 
5.41 
5.41 
5 
5 
5 
5.41 
5.41 
5.25 
5.19 

Half  Bcudo,  

1-5  scudo,  (20  baiocchi).. 
Marc,  (>£  specie)  

Half  rouble,  

10  piastres 

12.034 
13.364 
12.500 

12.747 
11.614 

.830 
.900 
.900 

.917 
.917 

2.22 
2.67 
2.50 

2.60 
2.37 

Half  dollar,  
50  cents 

X  dollar,  

l.OOOreis    

500  reis,  

Half  rupee,  

The  selection  of  the  unit,  and  the  best  means  of  introducing  the  new  pro- 
posed coins,  and  making  them  current  for  their  equivalent  values  in  different 
countries,  together  with  the  very  important  questions  whether  gold  or  silver 
should  be  the  standard,  and  the  relative  value  of  the  precious  metals  silver 
and  gold,  could  only  be  settled  by  agreement  in  a  convention  of  delegates, 
such  as  masters  of  the  mint,  or  other  parties  skilled  in  these  subjects,  who 
should  be  appointed  by  the  various  governments  to  discuss  and  decide  on 
the  points  in  debate. 

Some  influential  attempts  have  already  been  made  to  bring  about  the 
desired  uniformity  between  two  or  more  countries,  but  not  on  the  enlarged 
scale  which  the  subject  requires,  nor  with  the  authority  to  which  the  differ- 
ent governments  would  be  disposed  to  submit.  In  1857,  the  monetary  con- 
vention was  made  between  the  the  German  States  of  the  Zollverein,  when 
they  decided  upon  fixing  the  exact  value  of  the  Prussian,  Rhenish  and 
Austrian  coinage,  and  in  coming  the  Verein  thaler  to  have  the  same  currency 
as  the  national  coins  of  each  state.  In  1858,  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  of  America  passed  a  resolution  desiring  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  appoint  some  commissioner  to  confer  with  the 
proper  functionaries  in  Great  Britain,  in  relation  to  some  plan  or  plans  of  so 
mutually  arranging,  on  the  decimal  basis,  the  coinage  of  the  two  countries 
as  that  the  respective  units  shall  be  thereafter  easily  and  exactly  commen- 
surable, and  Professor  Alexander  was  appointed  for  that  purpose.  The 
United  Kingdom  is  on  the  eve  of  changing  or  considerably  reforming  the 
entire  system  of  weights,  measures,  and  coins,  and  any  change  made  by  the 
home  government  would  necessitate  a  corresponding  change  in  all  her  vast 
colonies  and  dependencies.  The  greater  part  of  Europe  has  already  a  com- 
mon system,  and  Russia  and  the  northern  Scandinavian  powers  have  mani- 
fested their  entire  willingness  to  co-operate  with  other  countries. 

In  conclusion,  as  far  as  regards  money,  we  beg  to  submit  the  following 
propositions  for  discussion  or  adoption  by  the  congress : 

1.  That  the  congress  recommend  that   the   existing  units  of  money  be 
reduced  to  a  small  number ;  that  each  unit  should  be  decimally  subdivided, 
and  that  the  coins  in  use  should  all  be  expressed  in  weights  of  the  metric 
system,  and  should  all  be  of  the  same  degree  of  fineness,  namely,  T\ths  fine 
and  TVth  alloy,  and  should  be  current  by  law,  and  interchangeable  in  all  the 
countries  agreeing  to  this  proposition. 

2.  That  from  their  extensive  use  in  commerce  and  in  monetary  transactions, 
the  £  sterling,  the  dollar,  the  florin,  and  the  franc  seem  the  units  the  most 
desirable  to  be   recommended  for   universal   adoption,   each   country  not 
possessing  one  of  these  in  actual  use  selecting  the  one  most  convenient  for 
its  own  use. 

3.  That  in  regard  to  the  silver  standard,  the  dollar  be  made  equal  to  5 
francs,  and  the  florin  to  2^-  francs,  and  the  franc,  as  at  present,  being  5  grams 
in  weight,  and  containing  4.5  grams  of  pure  silver. 


89 

4.  That  the  different  governments  be  invited  to  send  to  a  special  congress, 
delegates  authorized  to  consider  and  report  what  should  be,  in  the  metrio 
system,  the  relative  weights  of  the  gold  and  the  silver  coins,  and  to  arrange 
the  details  by  which  the  monetary  system  of  different  countries  may  be 
fixed,  and  the  coins  made  current  and  interchangeable  according  to  the  terms 
of  the  preceding  propositions. 

The  subjects  discussed  in  this  report  may  not  seem  to  bear  a  strictly  statis- 
tical character.  But  they  are  so  intimately  involved  in  the  study  of  interna- 
tional statistics,  that  at  the  preceding  congresses  they  have  successively 
assumed  a  more  important  place  in  the  programme.  Some  of  the  most 
prominent  objects  of  international  statistics  are  to  ascertain  the  causes  of 
the  progress  of  nations ;  to  elicit  what  tends  to  the  improvement  of  their 
social  and  material  condition ;  and  to  show  the  effect  of  removing  restric- 
tions upon  commerce  and  national  intercourse,  by  which  the  industry  of  every 
people  may  be  utilized  for  the  benefit  of  all.  One  of  the  most  efficient  means 
to  arrive  at  these  happy  results  must  be  the  obtaining,  as  nearly  as  possi 
ble,  uniformity  in  those  elements  of  exchange,  weight,  measure  and  value, 
which,  under  the  multifarious  and  cumbersome  systems  in  use,  cause  a  vast 
amount  of  unnecessary  labor  and  expense,  and  present  constant  impediments 
to  commercial  progress.  If  the  enlightened  men  assembled  from  all  parts  of 
world  at  this  congress  succeed,  either  by  force  of  their  united  opinion,  or  by 
their  individual  influence  at  home,  in  simplifying  or  reducing  to  a  few  the 
numerous  existing  systems,  they  will  not  only  give  a  great  impetus  to  the 
study  of  comparative  statistics,  but  will  greatly  promote  that  commercial 
and  social  intercourse  which  is  the  true  interest  of  nations,  and  the  most 
effectual  bond  of  order,  harmony,  and  peace. 


DOCUMENT  B. 

INTERNATIONAL  DECIMAL  ASSOCIATION. 

President.  —  The  Baron  James  de  Rothschild. 

Vice-Presidents  for  Great  Britain.  —  His  Grace  Richard  Whateley,  D. 
D.,  Archbishop  of  Dublin ;  Right  Hon.  The  Earl  of  Rosse,  K.  P.,  F.  R.  S. ; 
Right  Hon.  The  Earl  Fortescue ;  The  Very  Rev.  Richard  Dawes,  M.  A., 
Dean  of  Hereford ;  Richard  Cobden,  Esq.,  M.  P. ;  James  Yates,  Esq.,  M.  A., 
F.  R.  S. 

Council  for  1863.  —  Samuel  Brown,  Esq.,  F.  S.  S.,  11  Lombard  street,  E. 
C. ;  G.  Buchanan,  Esq.,  M.  D.,  75  Gower  street,  Bedford  Square ;  Harry 
Chester,  Esq.,  Rutland  Gate  ;  L.  T.  D'Eyncourt,  "Esq.,  Hadley  House,  near 
Barnet ;  William  Ewart,  Esq.,  M.  P.,  6  Cambridge  Square  ;  William  Farr, 
Esq.,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  S.,  general  registrar's  office,  Somerset  House ;  G.  A. 
Hamilton,  Esq.,  Treasury,  Whitehall ;  John  Pope  Hennessy,  Esq.,  M.  P«,  2 
12 


90 

Harcourt  Buildings,  Temple ;  James  Hey  wood,  Esq.,  F.  R.  S.,  Kensington 
Palace  Gardens ;  Edwin  Hill,  Esq.,  Inland  Revenue  Office,  Somerset  House ; 
Thomas  Hodgkin,  Esq.,  M.  D.,  35  Bedford  Square ;  Prof.  Hofmann,  F.  R.  S., 
Royal  College  of  Chemistry,  Oxford  street ;  Charles  Jellicoe,  Esq.,  3  Cres- 
cent, New  Bridge  street;  T.  W.  Jones,  Esq.,  M.  D.,  19  Finsbury  Pavement, 
Finsbury  Square ;  J.  P.  Lorsont,  Esq.,  56  Cannon  street  west ;  Thomas  De 
Meschin,  Esq.,  LL.  D.,  44  Chancery  Lane;  David  Mocatta,  Esq.,  29  Glou- 
cester Square ;  Tito  Pagliardini,  Esq.,  75  Upper  Berkeley  street,  Portman 
Square;  J.  B.  Smith,  Esq.,  P.  M.,  105  Westborne  Terrace;  Peter  Squire, 
Esq.,  277  Oxford  street;  Thomas  Winkworth,  Esq.,  Gresham  Club,  Old 
Broad  street ;  James  Yates,  Esq.,  F.  R.  S.,  Lauderdaie  House,  Highgate. 

Honorary  Secretaries.  —  R.  G.  Williams,  Esq.,  M.  A.,  3  King's  Bench 
Walk,  Temple;  John  Middleton  Hare,  Jr.,  Esq.,  B.  A.,  War  Office,  Pall- 
mall. 

Resident  Secretary.  —  Leone  Levi,  Esq.,  LL.  D.,  F.  S.  S. 

Auditors.  —  R.  G.  Williams,  Esq.,  M.  A.;  E.  Bellroche,  Esq. 


INTRODUCTION. 

It  is  gratifying  to  the  Council  of  the  International  Association  to  state 
that  the  House  of  Commons  has  affirmed  the  principle  of  introducing  into 
the  United  Kingdom  the  metric  system  of  weights  and  measures.  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Ewart's  bill,  which  was  read  a  second  time  by  a  majority  of  110  to  75, 
provided  for  the  establishment  by  law  of  four  new  units,  of  length,  of  sur- 
face and  land  measure,  of  capacity,  and  of  weight,  identical  with  those  of 
the  metric  system,  with  the  same  nomenclature  as  that  in  existence  in  this 
country,  with  the  addition  of  the  word  "new,"  correspo>!»ding  with  the 
metric  nomenclature  of  "Metre,"  "Are,"  "Litre,"  and  "Kilogram;"  the 
new  system  to  be  permissive  for  three  years  from  the  passing  of  the  act,  and 
obligatory  after  that  time. 

Nothing  is  easier  than  to  form  a  correct  view  of  the  whole  metric  system. 
The  unit  of  length,  which  is  also  the  basis  of  all  the  weights  and  measures, 
is  the  metre,  which  is  about  three  inches  longer  than  the  yard.  Advancing 
decimally,  we  have  in  a  thousand  of  such  yards  the  unit  of  road  measure, 
which  is  the  kilometre,  or  mile ;  and,  descending  decimally,  we  have  in  the 
tenth  of  the  metre  the  hand,  and  in  the  thousandth  part  of  the  metre  the 
smallest  unit  required  for  machine  work.  The  square  metre  is  the  unit  of 
superficial  measure,  called  the  are,  and  a  hundred  such  is  the  hectar  or  new 
acre.  This  new  acre  will  be  larger,  certainly,  than  the  present  one.  Instead 
of  4,840  square  yards  it  will  be  11,960  square  yards ;  but  the  Cheshire  acre 
now  in  use  is  10,240  square  yards.  The  gram  is  the  unit  of  weight,  and  a 


91 

thousand  grams  make  the  kilogram,  the  half  of  which  is  very  similar  to  our 
present  pound,  whilst  a  thousand  kilograms  is  nearly  the  same  as  our  ton. 

In  the  debate  it  was  objected  that,  instead  of  taking  the  French  metre  as 
the  unit  of  measure,  the  bill  gave  the  number  of  inches  contained  in  the 
metre.  It  would,  perhaps,  be  better  to  take  as  a  unit  the  "  Standard  Metre  " 
in  the  hands  of  the  Royal  Society.  But  it  is  important,  for  the  purpose  of 
comparison,  to  give  the  exact  equivalent  of  the  metre  in  standard  inches, 
especially  as  this  has  been  already  ascertained.  A  reference  to  the  report  of 
the  commissioners  on  weights  and  measures,  in  1820,  will  show  that  the 
length  of  the  pendulum  vibrating  seconds  in  a  vacuum  on  the  level  of  the 
sea,  in  London,  by  which  the  standard  yard  was  intended  to  be  computed, 
in  case  of  loss,  has  been  found  to  be  39.13929  inches,  and  that  of  the  French 
metre  39.37079  inches,  the  English  standards  being  employed  at  62°  Fahren- 
heit. In  the  same  manner  the  kilogram,  a  standard  of  which  is  kept  at  the 
Royal  Observatory,  has  been  ascertained  by  the  most  careful  calculation  to 
be  equivalent  to  15,432.34874  grains,  of  which  our  pound  contains  7,000. 

The  question  of  nomenclature  is  quite  a  subordinate  one,  and  it  is  quite 
open  for  us  either  to  adopt  that  in  use  in  France  and  other  countries,  or  to 
do  the  same  as  has  been  done  in  Holland,  where  they  adopted  the  old  Dutch 
nomenclature  for  the  new  quantities. 

Much  has  been-  said  upon  the  expediency  of  making  the  measure  permis- 
sive only,  and  not  compulsory.  The  bill  was  permissive  for  three  years,  a 
certain  time  being  absolutely  necessary  for  preparation.  The  question  simply 
is,  whether  or  not  we  shall  fix  a  time  beforehand  when  the  new  system  of 
weights  and  measures  shall  be  made  compulsory.  No  one  will  advocate  the 
permanent  introduction  of  another  system  side  by  side  with  the  existing  one ; 
that  would  add  to  the  present  confusion.  The  great  advantage  of  fixing  a 
time  when  the  new  weights  and  measures  shall  be  compulsory  is,  that  the 
nation  will  be  thereby  forced  to  adapt  itself  to  the  use  of  the  new  system, 
and  teachers  of  schools  will  find  it  necessary  to  give  themselves  in  earnest 
to  teach  the  system  in  all  the  schools  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

The  sense  of  the  House,  however,  being  adverse  to  any  compulsory  mea- 
sure in  the  first  instance,  and  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  hav- 
ing left  the  matter  open,  the  council  are  prepared  to  support  a  bill  to  that 
effect,  and  rejoice  to  find  that  notice  of  a  permissive  bill  for  the  next  session 
of  Parliament  has  been  given  by  Mr.  Ewart. 

The  recommendations  of  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  the 
subject  were  as  follows : 

1.  That  the  use  of  the  metric  system  be  rendered  legal,  though  no  com- 
pulsory measures  should  be  resorted  to  until  they  are  sanctioned  by  the 
general  conviction  of  the  public. 

2.  That  a  department  of  weights  and  measures  be  established  in  connec- 
tion with  the  board  of  trade.    It  would  thus  become  subordinate  to  the 


92 

government  and  responsible  to  Parliament.  To  it  should  be  intrusted  the 
conservation  and  the  verification  of  the  standard,  the  superintendence  of 
inspectors,  and  the  general  duties  incident  to  such  a  department.  It  should 
also  take  such  measures  as  may  from  time  to  time  promote  the  use  and 
extend  the  knowledge  of  the  metric  system  in  the  departments  of  govern- 
ment and  among  the  people. 

3.  The  government  should  sanction  the  use  of  the  metric  system,  together 
with  our  present  one,  in  the  levying  of  the  custom  duties ;  thus  familiarizing 
it  among  our  merchants  and  manufacturers,  and  giving  facilities  to  foreign 
traders  in  their  dealings  with  this  country.     Its  use,  combined  with  that  of 
our  own  system,  in  government  contracts  has  also  been  suggested. 

4.  The  metric  system  should  form  one  of  the  subjects  of  examination  in 
the  competitive  examination  of  the  civil  service. 

5.  The  gram  should  be  used  as  a  weight  for  foreign  letters  and  books  at 
the  post  office. 

6.  The  committee  of  council  on  education  should  require  the  metric  sys- 
tem to  be  taught  (as  might  easily  be  done,  by  means  of  tables  and  diagrams) 
in  all  schools  receiving  grants  of  public  money. 

7.  In  the  public  statistics  of  the  country,  quantities  should  be  expressed  in 
terms  of  the  metric  system  in  juxtaposition  with  those  of  our  own,  as  sug- 
gested by  the  International  Statistical  Congress. 

8.  In  private  bills  before  Parliament  the  use  of  the  metric  system  should 
be  allowed. 

9.  The  only  weights  and  measures  in  use  should  be  the  metric  and  impe- 
rial, until  the  metric  has  generally  been  adopted. 

10.  The  proviso  in  the  5th  and  6th  William  IV,  c.  63,  s.  6th,  should  be 
repealed. 

11.  The  department  which  it  is  proposed  to  appoint  should  make  an  annual 
report  to  Parliament. 

The  expediency  of  introducing  the  metric  system  has  thus  been  admitted, 
first,  by  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  select  committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons ;  and,  secondly,  by  a  large  majority  of  the  House  itself. 

We  shall  now  conclude  our  observations  with  a  brief  summary  of  the 
principal  reasons  in  favor  of  the  measure : 

1st.  The  uniformity  in  weights  and  measures,  which  it  has  always  been 
the  great  object  of  the  legislature  to  establish,  is  defeated  by  the  vast  variety 
of  weights  and  measures  in  use  in  every  part  of  the  country  and  in  many 
branches  of  trade. 

2d.  The  existence  of  so  many  weights  and  measures  other  than  the  imperial 
proves  that  we  do  not  at  present  possess  a  system  adequate  to  the  require- 
ments of  trade,  and  adapted  to  daily  intercourse,  and  to  the  purposes  of 
science. 


3d.  The  metric  weights  and  measures  are  universally  admitted  to  fulfill  the 
conditions  of  a  sound  and  convenient  system. 

4th.  This  system  has  been  adopted  not  only  in  France,  but  in  Belgium, 
Holland,  Spain,  Italy,  Portugal,  Germany,  Switzerland  and  Greece,  and  is 
rapidly  extending  over  other  parts  of  Europe  and  in  America. 

5th.  The  increase  of  our  trade  with  those  countries  which  use  the  metric 
weights  and  measures  renders  its  adoption  by  ourselves  a  matter  of  great 
practical  importance. 

6th.  The  pel-missive  use  of  metric  weights  and  measures  is  highly  expe- 
dient for  the  purpose  of  legalizing  the  transactions  now  carried  on  according 
to  that  system. 

7th.  The  country  has  already  expressed  itself  in  favor  of  the  decimal 
method  of  calculation,  on  which  the  metric  system  is  based. 

8th.  The  metric  weights  and  measures  admit  of  binary  divisions. 

9th.  By  decimalizing  the  weights  and  measures  we  best  pave  the  way  for 
the  decimalization  of  our  coinage. 

10th.  Extensive  inquiries  have  been  proved  that  the  introduction  of  the 
proposed  system  would  secure  an  immense  saving  of  time  in  education. 

llth.  The  adoption  of  the  metric  system  has  been  decidedly  and  unani- 
mously recommended  by  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  after  most 
careful  inquiry  and  discussion. 

Up  to  the  10th  of  July,  nineteen  petitions  were  presented  to  the  House  of 
Commons,  among  which  were  the  following : 

Members  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Huddersfield,  in  the  county  of 
York,  Thos.  P.  Crosland,  vice-president. 

Members  of  the  council  for  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  for  Birmingham 
and  the  Midland  district.  Signed  by  the  direction  and  on  behalf  of  the 
council,  George  Dixon,  vice-president. 

Members  of  the  Leeds  Chamber  of  Commerce,  through  its  president, 
Darnton  Lupton. 

Members  of  the  Bradford  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Henry  W.  Ripley, 
President;  John  Darlington,  Secretary;  29th  June,  1863. 

Members  of  the  Hertford  Literary  and  Scientific  Institution. 

Halifax  Chamber  of  Commerce,  through  its  president,  Edward  Akroyd. 

Hull  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Shipping,  John  Lumsden,  president  of 
chamber.  Wolverhampton  Chamber  of  Commerce.  Signed  on  behalf  of 
the  chamber,  Edward  Perry,  president. 

Liverpool  Chamber  of  Commerce.  Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Liverpool 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  R.  A.  Macfie,  president. 

Sheffield  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Manufactures.  Robert  Jackson, 
president. 

Pharmaceutical  chemists  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne  and  Gateshead. 

Physicians,  surgeons  and  chemists  in  the  borough  of  Wakefield,  in  the 
county  of  York. 

Inhabitants  of  Highgate,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex. 

Association  of  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  United  Kingdom,  of  which 
are  members  the  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  Belfast,  Birmingham,  Bradford, 
Bristol,  Coventry,  Dewsbury,  Gloucester,  Goole,  Halifax,  Huddersfield, 


94 

Hull,  Kendall,  Leeds,  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  Nottingham,  Sheffield,  Stafford- 
shire Potteries  and  Wolverhampton.  Signed  on  behalf  of  the  association, 
Sampson  S.  Lloyd,  chairman. 

Members  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  town  of  Batley,  in  the 
West  Riding  of  the  county  of  York.  Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Batley 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  John  Jubbs,  president. 

A  petition  was  also  intrusted  to  Mr.  Ewart  for  presentation,  from  the 
merchants  and  traders  of  the  city  of  London,  numerously  signed,  and  com- 
prising the  signatures  of  some  of  the  largest  merchants  in  the  city. 

The  following  is  the  text  of  some  of  the  petitions  : 

The  petition  of  the  Association  of  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  of  which  are  members  the  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  Belfast, 
Birmingham,  Bradford,  Bristol,  Coventry,  Dewsbury,  Gloucester,  Goole, 
Halifax,  Hudderstield,  Hull,  Kendall,  Leeds,  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  Notting- 
ham, Sheffield,  Staffordshire  Potteries  and  Wolverhampton,  humbly 
showeth : 

That  the  numerous  evils  and  inconveniences  to  which  the  trade  of  this 
country  is  exposed  from  the  almost  endless  differences  existing  in  the  weights 
and  measures  used  in  the  United  Kingdom  have  long  been  matter  of  regret 
to  the  commercial  and  trading  classes  of  this  country. 

That  these  evils  would  be  effectually  remedied  if  the  weights  and  mea- 
sures of  the  United  Kingdom  were  decimalized  and  made  to  correspond 
with  those  of  other  countries. 

That  the  great  and  rapid  increase  of  the  trade  of  this  country  with  those 
of  foreign  countries  in  which  the  metric  and  decimal  system  is  adopted  ren- 
ders this  a  question  of  increasing  practical  importance. 

That  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  of  Chambers  of  Commerce 
of  the  United  Kingdom,  held  at  the  Westminster  Palace  Hotel  on  the  24th 
of  February  in  the  present  year,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  to  petition 
both  houses  of  Parliament  in  favor  of  such  a  measure. 

That  a  bill  for  this  purpose  is  now  before  your  honorable  House,  entitled 
"A  bill  for  decimalizing  our  existing  system  of  weights  and  measures,  and 
for  establishing  an  accordance  between  them  and  those  of  foreign  countries," 
which,  if  carried  into  a  law,  will  effect  this  most  desirable  object. 

Your  petitioners  therefore  humbly  pray  that  your  honorable  House  will 
pass  the  above  named  bill. 

And  your  petitioners  will  ever  pray,  &c. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  association, 

SAMPSON  S.  LLOYD,  Chairman. 


The  petition  of  the  Liverpool  Chamber  of  Commerce  humbly  showeth  : 
That  a  bill  is  now  before  your  honorable  House  for  the  introduction  of  a 
metrical  decimal  system  of  weights  and  measures  in  lieu  of  several  cumbrous 
and  confused  methods  formed  by  no  rule  and  adhering  to  no  standard  (save 
local  custom)  now  existing  throughout  the  United  Kingdom. 

That  your  petitioners  believe  that  such  a  system  as  that  advocated  would 
be  a  boon  to  the  educator,  the  merchant,  the  dealer,  and  the  working  man. 
That  it  would  simplify  all  commercial  calculations,  bringing  them  within 
the  capacity  of  the  humblest  trader.  That  its  assimilation  to  the  system  of 
so  many  other  countries  would  facilitate  and  enlarge  the  operations  of  com- 
merce, promote  peace,  and  must  therefore  be  considered  as  needful  to  secure 
and  complete  international  free  trade. 


95 

Your  petitioners,  therefore,  pray  for  the  adoption  of  the  bill  now  before 
your  honorable  House  for  the  decimalization  of  weights  and  measures  and 
their  assimilation  to  those  of  foreign  nations  as  far  as  practical. 
And  your  petitioners  will  ever  pray,  &c. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Liverpool  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

R.  A.  MACFIE,  President. 


The  humble  petition  of  the  Sheffield  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Manu- 
factures showeth : 

That  your  petitioners  have  had  under  their  consideration  the  provisions 
of  a  bill  introduced  by  Mr.  Ewart  and  other  members  into  your  honorable 
House,  entitled,  "A  bill  for  decimalizing  our  existing  system  of  weights 
and  measures,  and  for  establishing  an  accordance  between  them  and  those  of 
foreign  countries. 

That  the  said  bill  has  been  so  introduced  in  compliance  with  a  request 
made  to  Mr.  Ewart  by  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  United 
Kingdom.  That  in  consequence  of  recent  alterations  in  foreign  tariffs  an 
active  trade  between  this  country  and  continental  houses  is  rapidly  springing 
up ;  and  your  petitioners  are  constantly  made  to  feel  the  inconvenience  arising 
from  the  difference  which  exists  between  the  British  system  of  weights  and 
measures  and  that  of  foreign  countries. 

Your  petitioners,  therefore,  pray  that  your  honorable  House  will  endeavor 
to  pass  such  a  measure  as  will  speedily  establish  an  accordance  between  the 
system  of  weights  and  measures  of  this  country  and  that  of  foreign  countries. 

And  your  petitioners  will  ever  pray,  &c. 

ROBERT  JACKSON,  President. 


The  humble  petition  of  the  council  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  for  Bir- 
mingham and  the  Midland  district  showeth: 

That  your  petitioners,  as*  merchants  or  manufacturers,  are  extensively 
engaged  in  commercial  transactions  in  both  the  home  and  foreign  trade  of 
this  country. 

That  great  irregularities  at  present  exist  in  the  ordinary  transactions  of 
trade,  in  consequence  of  the  variety  of  measures  and  weights  now  established 
by  law  or  custom  in  this  country,  which  are  so  ill  adjusted  to  each  other  as 
to  occasion  loss  of  time,  liability  to  error,  and  other  serious  inconvenience  in 
conducting  mercantile  operations. 

That  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  measures  and  weights,  which 
have  reference  to  innumerable  transactions  in  daily  life,  should  be  established 
upon  a  clear  and  intelligible  basis,  and  should  be  easy  to  comprehend  and 
remembered,  capable  of  simple  and  uniform  subdivisions,  and  generally 
adapted  to  the  wants  and  understanding  of  all  classes. 

That  the  metric  decimal  system  which  is  gradually  extending  itself 
throughout  the  continents  of  Europe  and  America  is  eminently  distinguished 
by  these  advantages,  and  if  it  were  adopted  in  this  country  for  commercial 
as  well  as  scientific  purposes  would  confer  great  benefits  on  all  classes. 

That  the  increased  intercourse  between  this  country  and  the  continent  of 
Europe,  arising  from  the  treaty  of  commerce  with  France,  from  the  reduction 
of  rates  of  postage,  the  abolition  of  passports,  the  progressive  adoption  of 
more  liberal  tariffs  by  other  European  States,  and  generally  the  increased 
facilities  for  traveling  and  international  communications,  renders  it  of  the 


96 

highest  importance  that  the  measures  and  weights  in  use  in  the  United 
Kingdom  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe  should  be  assimilated  as  much  as 
possible. 

That,  in  the  opinion  of  your  petitioners,  the  present  is  a  favorable  time  for 
introducing  this  change,  to  be  enforced  after  a  sufficient  interval  of  prepara- 
tion, and  they  therefore  pray  that  the-  bill  now  before  your  honorable  House 
for  the  establishment  of  a  metric  decimal  system  may,  with  such  changes  of 
details  as  may  be  deemed  expedient,  pass  into  a  law. 

And  your  petitioners  will  ever  pray. 

Signed  by  the  direction  and  on  behalf  of  the  council. 

GEORGE  DIXON,   Vice-President. 


DEBATE  ON  METRIC  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 

Mr.  William  Ewart  moved  the  second  reading  of  the  weights  and  mea- 
sures (metric  system)  bill.  He  said  a  committee,  of  which  he  had  the  honor 
to  be  chairman,  had  been  directed  last  session  "  to  inquire  into  the  practica- 
bility of  adopting  a  simple  and  uniform  system  of  weights  and  measures." 
Two  main  considerations  guided  their  inquiries — the  benefit  of  our  home 
trade,  and  the  benefit  of  our  trade  with  foreign  countries.  The  occasion  of 
the  international  exhibition  was  thought  a  favorable  opportunity  for  ascer- 
taining the  improvements  which  had  been  effected,  and  the  opinions  which 
prevailed  among  continental  nations.  About  twelve  eminent  foreign  wit- 
nesses were  examined,  at  the  head  of  whom  might  be  named  M.  Michel 
Chevalier.  They  were  unanimously  favorable  to  the  metric  system.  The 
committee  also,  whatever  might  have  been  their  first  impressions,  unanimously 
recommended  the  gradual  adoption  of  that  system.  What  did  they  find  to 
have  been  the  history  of  our  own  system  ?  Before  the  time  of  Magna 
Charta,  in  the  reign  of  Richard  I,  (and  even  in  the  Saxon  times,)  it  was 
declared  that  "there  should  be  one  weight  and  measure  throughout  the 
land."  From  those  days  down  to  the  last  modern  act,  uniformity  was  the 
aim  or  the  dream  of  our  legislation.  (Hear,  hear.)  Yet  what  did  we  find 
as  the  result  ?  We  had  at  present  no  less  than  ten  different  systems  of 
weights.  For  our  ordinary  measure,  we  had  the  inch,  foot,  and  yard.  For 
cloth  measure,  we  used  yards,  nails  and  ells.  We  had  about  seven  sorts  of 
acres.  We  had  an  Irish  mile,  a  Scotch  mile,  and  an  English  mile.  There 
were  twenty  different  bushels,  ten  different  stones,  three  sorts  of  hundred 
weights,  several  kinds  of  tons,  and  many  sorts  of  gallons.  He  believed  we 
might  lose  ourselves  in  these  mazes  of  numerical  confusion.  It  might  literally 
be  said  of  our  system,  as  was  said  by  Horace  of  a  more  poetical  one, 
"  numerisque  fertur  Lege  solutis"  Every  one,  he  thought,  would  agree  that 
certainty  is  the  soul  of  commerce,  yet  our  transactions  between  man  and 
man  are  full  of  uncertainty.  (Hear,  hear.)  Meanwhile  the  number  and 


97 

extent  of  those  transactions  were  constantly  increasing.  They  became  more 
and  more  accelerated  and  multiplied  as  the  post,  as  railways,  as  the  electric 
telegraph  gave  wings  to  the  internal  commerce  of  the  country.  Therefore, 
as  exchanges  between  man  and  man  increased,  the  impediments  to  those 
exchanges  were  felt  to  be  more  and  more  oppressive.  (Hear,  hear.)  On 
this  point  the  right  honorable  the  member  for  Oxfordshire  gave  them  the 
benefit  of  his  evidence.  He  observed  (and  his  observations  were  sound  and 
intelligent)  that  "the  great  facility  of  intercourse  now  taking  place  has 
made  the  necessity  or  the  wish  for  uniformity  in  weights  and  measures 
stronger  than  it  was  ten  years  ago."  "I  think,"  he  added,  "there  is  a 
greater  tendency  in  the  public  mind  to  consider  the  question  now.  The  rail- 
ways have  brought  people  from  the  east,  west,  north  and  south  to  every 
market.  It  is  a  great  inconvenience  to  those  traveling  dealers  to  go  down 
to  markets  of  which  they  do  not  understand  the  custom.  They  may  have 
bought  and  sold,  and  they  really  do  not  know  what  they  have  bought  and 
sold."  Such  were  the  great  and  increasing  disadvantages  of  the  present 
system  in  our  home  trade.  They  were  also  strongly  apparent  in  our  foreign 
commerce  and  our  foreign  intercourse.  (Hear,  hear.)  They  had  made 
themselves  manifest  during  the  great  exhibition  of  1851.  In  comparing  the 
weights  and  measures  of  foreign  and  British  articles,  the  jurors  of  the  exhi- 
bition could  not  understand  each  other.  A  similar  difficulty  occurred  at 
the  great  Paris  exhibition  of  1855.  The  international  jury  thus  expressed 
their  opinion,  "They"  (the  jury)  "deem  it  their  duty  earnestly  to  recom- 
mend to  the  consideration  of  their  respective  governments  and  the  friends 
of  civilization,  the  adoption  of  a  uniform  system  of  weights  and  measures 
computed  decimally,  both  u*regard  to  its  multiples  and  divisors,  and  also 
in  regard  to  the  elements  of  all  the  different  units."  In  1860,  at  the  London 
Statistical  Congress,  the  Prince  Consort,  a  name  ever  memorable,  not  only 
in  the  history  of  this  nation,  but  in  the  history  of  the  world,  used  the  follow- 
ing words :  "  The  different  weights  and  measures,  and  currencies  in  which 
different  statistics  are  expressed,  cause  further  difficulties  and  impedimentSc 
Suggestions  as  to  their  removal  have  been  made  at  former  meetings,  and 
will,  no  doubt,  be  renewed."  Can  we  doubt  that  an  improvement  of  the 
present  system  would  have  found  a  supporter  in  that  illustrious  prince, 

whose  philosophic  mind 
Joy'd  in  the  general  good  of  all  mankind ! 

After  1860  repeated  discussions  on  the  subject  took  place  in  the  Society 
of  Arts;  and  in  1861  the  associated  chambers  of  commerce  passed  the  fol- 
lowing resolution :  "  It  is  highly  desirable  to  adopt  the  metric  system, 
which  has  been  introduced  into  other  European  countries,  with  great  advan- 
tage in  saving  time  in  trading  and  other  accounts."  Now,  what  was  the 
metric  system  ?  It  was  a  defiimal  system  based  on  the  metre  as  the  unit  of 
length,  from  which  the  units  of  weight,  capacity,  and  surface  are  derived, 
13 


98 

with  multiples  expressed  in  Greek,  and  divisors  expressed  in  Latin  terms. 
In  fact,  it  is  a  framework  of  decimal  calculation,  a  machine,  saving  a  large 
amount  of  labor  in  the  transactions  of  life.  The  great  men,  La  Grange,  La 
Place,  Condorcet,  Monge,  and  others,  who  presided  at  its  creation,  chose  to 
take  the  metre  from  the  ten-millionth  part  of  a  quadrant  of  the  meridian. 
It  was  now  represented  by  a  fixed  standard,  kept  in  the  archives  at  Paris,  of 
which  the  nations  adopting  the  metre  secure  an  authentic  copy.  For  a  long 
time  a  mixed  system,  the  old  weights  and  measures  and  the  new  system,  con- 
flicted with  each  other  in  France.  The  great  Napoleon,  as  he  rose  in  power, 
favored  the  usages  of  antiquity,  and  discountenanced  the  metric  system. 
With  the  imperial  purple  he  put  on  the  policy  of  reaction :  "  Cum  pulchris 
tunicis  sumpsit  nova  cwisilia  et  spes"  The  result  was  doubt  and  disorder 
in  commercial  dealing.  That  doubt  and  disorder  continued  under  the  Bour- 
bons. But  under  Louis  Philippe,  the  monarch  o£  the  middle  classes,  a  final 
law  was  passed,  which  insured  the  introduction  of  the  metric  system  after 
an  interval  of  three  years,  dating  from  1837  and  ending  in  1840.  France 
then  passed  under  the  dominion  of  the  metre,  and  a  very  competent  witness 
had  declared  that  it  was  "  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  ever  bestowed  on 
France."  As  to  other  nations,  Holland  had  long  ago  adopted  the  metric 
system,  though  retaining  her  national  terms.  Belgium  had  also  long  since 
adopted  it.  So  had  Spain.  Portugal  and  Spain  were  now  undergoing  the 
process  of  adoption,  ten  years  being  the  term  allowed.  All  Italy,  following 
in  the  footsteps  of  Sardinia,  was  rapidly  passing  within  the  orbit  of  the 
metric  system.  Switzerland  has  already  done  so.  In  South  America  it  is 
largely  used.  Only  within  the  last  few  weeks  its  adoption  has  been  approved 
of  in  an  assembly  of  the  three  Scandinavian  j^itions.  The  following  resolu- 
tion was  passed  on  the  20th  of  May,  at  the  Scandinavian  meeting  for  politi- 
cal economy,  consisting  of  near  500  Swedish,  Norwegian,  and  Danish 
members  of  the  three  parliaments,  and  others :  "  It  is  expedient  to  adopt 
the  French  metric  system,  with  attendant  subdivisions  and  denominations 
for  weights  and  measures  in  the  three  Scandinavian  countries,  and  to  adopt 
the  French  franc  of  five  grammes,  nine-tenths  silver  and  one-tenth  copper,  as 
the  unit  of  Scandinavian  coinage,  with  decimal  subdivisions."  Since  then, 
the  King  of  Denmark  has  appointed  a  commission  to  study  the  question,  and 
to  draw  up  a  bill  applying  the  decimal  system  to  the  money,  weights,  and 
measures  of  Denmark.  Within  the  last  few  days  our  own  post-office,  in 
unison  with  all  those  of  the  continent,  has  adopted  the  metric  system  for 
postal  objects.*  So  that  we  are  silently  lapsing  into  the  general  European 
system.  (Hear,  hear.)  Ought  we,  then,  to  remain  behind  other  nations  — 


*  Resolved,  "Le  systeme  m^trique  decimal  e"tant  de  tons  les  systemes  de  poids  celui  qui 
satisfait  le  mieux  aux  exigences  du  service  des  Postes,  .11  y  a  lieu  de  1'adopter  pour  les  rela- 
tions de  poste  Internationale,  zk  1'exclusion  de  tout  autre  systeme." 


99 

we  who  have  been  accustomed  to  lead  them,  and  of  whom  Milton  has  de- 
clared it  to  be  the  privilege  "  to  teach  the  nations  how  to  live  ?  "  (Hear, 
hear.)  This  circumstance  is  also  worthy  of  consideration,  our  trade  with 
nations  using  the  metric  system  is  larger  than  our  trade  with  nations  using 
the  English  system.  To  the  former  our  exports  in  1861,  in  round  numbers, 
amounted  to  £55,000,000 ;  our  exports  to  the  latter  were  only  £24,000,000. 
Our  exports  to  countries  using  the  metric  system  was  greatly  increasing. 
In  1853  there  were  £32,000,000  in  value ;  in  1861,  £55,000,000.  It  appeared 
also  that,  in  1859,  40  per  cent  of  the  tonnage  of  our  shipping  were  employed 
in  trade  with  countries  which  use  the  metric  system.  According  to  tho 
returns  just  published  by  the  board  of  customs,  our  exports  to  France  (the 
primary  metric-system  country,  if  he  might  use  such  a  compound)  were, 
including  foreign  and  colonial  goods,  in  1860,  £12,700,000 ;  in  1861,  £21,800,- 
000.  But  let  us  look  forward  to  the  future.  Our  trade  with  France  and 
Italy,  Spain  and  the  Mediterranean,  and  eastern  countries,  is  probably  only 
in  its  infancy.  "  The  metric  system,"  says  a  mercantile  witness,  "  will  be 
adopted  in  a  few  years  throughout  Europe."  Will  it  then  be  possible 
for  England  to  remain  isolated  ?  (Cheers.)  Let  us  now  view  the  question 
under  another  aspect  —  the  saving  of  labor  by  means  of  the  metric  system 
in  the  common  operations  of  commerce.  Mr.  Lorsont,  a  Belgian  and  Eng- 
lish merchant,  says,  in  his  evidence  before  the  committee,  "  By  using  the 
metric  system  I  could  spare  two  clerks,  and  prevent  a  great  deal  of  error." 
He  adds,  that  the  maintenance  of  our  system  is  as  bad  as  if  we  retained  the 
old  Roman  figures.  Mr.  Dickson,  a  manufacturer  and  landed  proprietor 
near  Dunkirk,  also  says  that,  "  by  using  the  metric  system  he  could  carry  ou 
his  trade  with  fewer  clerks.  <  He  considered  the  metric  system  one  of  the 
greatest  blessings  ever  conferred  on  France."  Mr.  Fellows,  a  British  manu- 
facturer and  merchant,  says,  "  the  calculations  of  a  French  merchant  may  be 
made  in  one-half  the  time,  or  less  than  half  the  time  we  employ."  The 
associated  chambers  of  commerce  stated,  in  1861,  that  "the  present  system 
is  very  inconvenient  to  a  great  commercial  nation,"  and  that  "  the  use  of  the 
metric  system  is  likely  to  be  a  boen  to  all  the  community."  But  there  was 
another  important  aspect  of  the  question.  He  meant  its  reference  to  machinery 
and  manufactures.  We  ought,  in  consequence  of  our  iron,  our  coal,  and  our 
mechanical  powers,  to  be  the  greatest  machine  makers  in  the  world.  Now, 
Mr.  Crossley,  an  engineer,  says  in  his  evidence  that  "the  demand  for  our 
machinery  would  extend  much  more  if  an  international  system  of  weights 
and  measures  were  adopted."  Mr.  Fairbairn,  himself  celebrated  as  a  mech- 
anist, is  of  opinion  that,  "  the  decimal  system  will  ultimately  be  introduced 
into  all  our  mechanical  operations.  The  metric  system  is,  of  all  he  knows, 
the  best."  An  important  point  in  machine-making  is  exactness  of  admea- 
surement. Can  we,  under  our  own  system,  make  machines  of  such  exact 
dimensions  as  arq  made  in  Belgium,  where  they  make  use  of  the  metric 


100 

system  ?  The  importance  of  minute  exactness  was  shown  in  the  formation 
of  Armstrong  guns,  where  the  nice  fitting  of  the  concentric  circles  of  iron  is 
of  the  utmost  consequence.  For  all  such  operations  the  use  of  the  millime- 
tre was  said  by  an  eminent  civil  engineer,  Mr.  Siemens,  to  be  highly  advan- 
tageous. But,  if  it  be  true  that  we  should  be  the  machinists  of  the  world, 
our  workmen  must  probably  travel  abroad  for  employment.  How  important 
it  is,  if  not  indispensable,  that  they  should  previously  know  the  foreign 
weights  and  measures,  and  be  instructed  in  the  metric  system.  (Hear,  hear.) 
But  another  point  remained  for  consideration.  He  meant  the  time  which 
might  be  saved  in  education  by  the  adoption  of  the  metric  system.  Some 
time  ago  the  international  association  for  decimal  weights  and  measures 
caused  an  inquiry  on  this  branch  of  the  subject  to  be  extensively  circulated 
among  the  schoolmasters  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  answers  they 
received  led  to  this  conclusion,  that  learning  arithmetic  by  the  youth  in  our 
schools  now  ordinarily  takes  two  years,  but  that  under  the  decimal  and 
metric  system  it  would  only  take  ten  months ;  but  let  us  suppose  that  the 
time  saved  is  only  a  year  —  is  that  no  great  gain  to  the  cause  of  education  ? 
Professor  De  Morgan  stated  before  the  committee  that  "  the  time  devoted  to 
education  in  arithmetic  might,  by  the  new  system,  be  reduced  by  one-half, 
if  not  by  more."  Dr.  Farr  said,  "  you  would  get  rid  of  all  compound  arith- 
metic, and  make  calculations  simple  and  mechanical."  We  should  thus 
liberate  ourselves  from  reduction,  practice,  and  other  elaborate  expedients, 
to  the  contentment  of  our  children  and  the  emancipation  of  their  intellect. 
(Hear,  hear.)  Dr.  Ihne,  a  German  teacher  of  great  experience  at  Liverpool, 
stated  that  the  new  system  gave  "  a  great  advantage  to  boys  in  foreign 
schools  over  our  own ;  and  added  that  "  our  boys  were  deterred  by  the 
present  system  from  pursuing  the  higher  mathematics."  The  Rev.  Mr.  Bar- 
rett, also  extensively  engaged  in  teaching,  says  that,  on  account  of  the 
difference  between  the  two  systems,  "education  in  the  French  military 
academies  is  much  higher  and  more  forward  than  in  ours."  "  Boys,"  he 
adds,  "  are  deterred  and  disgusted  "  by  our  present  complicated  system. 
May  we  not,  in  fact  describe  these  impediments  as  so  many  toll-bars  on  the 
highway  of  education  ?  (Cheers.)  But  it  was  shown  that,  even  at  a  more 
advanced  age,  our  working  men  could  easily  master  the  metric  system.  Mr. 
Dickson,  an  extensive  employer  of  them  abroad,  said  that  "  his  overseers 
came  from  Scotland,  knowing  nothing  of  French  weights  and  measures ;  but 
they  soon  acquired  the  metric  system."  The  committee  examined  a  working 
man,  Mr.  Wyse,  who  had  been  twenty  years  in  the  employment  of  Mr. 
Brassey,  the  great  contractor.  Mr.  Wyse  said  that  "  he  very  soon  under- 
stood the  metric  system,  and  found  it  easier  to  learn  than  the  English  scale 
of  yards,  feet  and  inches."  He  adds,  "All  the  workmen  I  ever  had  to  do 
with  prefer  the  French  method  to  the  English."  In  fact,  to  pursue  our 
system  when  we  could  take  advantage  of  a  new  one,  was  like  avoiding  a 


'• 


101 

a  railway  to  go  by  the  old  turnpike  road.  (Cheers.)  In  these  circumstances, 
what  course  shall  we  adopt  ?  There  are,  to  use  the  often-quoted  phrase  of 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  "  three  courses  open  before  us."  First,  shall  we  retain  our 
present  system?  The  answer,  he  thought,  would  be  a  universal  "No." 
Next,  shall  we  create,  or  rather  patch  up,  a  tesselated  system  out  of  the  worn- 
out  materials  of  the  present  ?  That  course  would  involve  as  much  trouble 
as  the  adoption  of  the  foreign  system,  and  it  would  have  the  immense  inter- 
national disadvantage  of  not  agreeing  with  the  system  of  other  nations,  a 
system  with  which,  after  all,  we  should  eventually  be  obliged  to  conform. 
It  would  be  taking  two  steps,  or  rather  two  journeys,  when  we  need  only 
take  one.  Lastly,  shall  we  gradually  adopt  the  metric  system  ?  That  sys- 
tem has  succeeded  wherever  it  has  been  tried.  All  the  foreign  witnesses, 
without  exception,  are  in  its  favor.  It  is  a  perfect  decimal  system,  with 
ascending  decimals  to  multiply,  and  descending  decimals  to  divide  by.  It 
is  no  longer  a  theory.  It  has  become  a  practical  system,  involving  no  pre- 
liminary scientific  measurement.  We  have  only  to  copy  an  existing  stand- 
ard, to  pursue  the  path  already  trodden  by  other  nations.  In  short,  to  use 
a  familiar  phrase,  it  is  "  ready-made  to  our  hands."  He  (Mr.  Ewart)  would 
therefore  say^  "  Begin."  Inquire  how  Portugal  is  successfully  proceeding ; 
what  preliminary  steps  she  took.  Inquire  of  other  nations.  In  the  mean- 
time (as  the  committee  advise)  give  instructions  in  the  metric  system  in  your 
schools,  use  it  in  the  customs  department,  and,  where  available,  in  the  other 
departments  of  the  government.  Prepare  for  the  coming  change.  Defer  it, 
if  needful ;  but  prepare.  The  bill  before  the  House,  for  the  construction  of 
which  we  are  indebted  to  the  skill  and  ability  of  Professor  Levi,  gives  three 
years'  time  for  preparation.  If  at  the  end  of  that  time  we  are  not  ready, 
we  have  only  to  give  three  years  more,  or  as  much  time  as  might  be  needed. 
Next,  he  came  to  the  objections.  It  was  objected  that  the  bill  should  have 
been  only  a  permissive  bill.  He  had  indeed  had  a  permissive  bill  framed, 
and  he  was  still  quite  willing  to  assent  to  a  permissive  bill.  That  was  the 
suggestion  of  the  committee.  But  practical  men  objected  to  a  permissive 
bill.  They  said,  "Give  us  something  positive  and  final;  we  are  tired  of 
alternatives."  It  was  true  that  in  France  they  went  on  hovering  between 
two  systems  for  forty  years,  but  those  were  forty  years  of  confusion,  and 
they  were  obliged  to  fix  a  term  at  last.  But,  as  he  had  said  before,  we  are 
not  bound  to  three  years.  A  continuation  bill  is  an  easy  and  common 
remedy ;  or  if  the  House  willed  it,  they  could  try  a  permissive  system. 
There  was  another  objection,  of  which  he  fully  felt  the  force.  It  was,  the 
trouble  which  any  change  of  system  would  cause  to  the  retail  trader.  To 
his  case  every  consideration  should  be  given,  and  every  indulgence  shown. 
He  thought  that  some  allowance  might  be  made  for  the  cost  which  the 
change  in  weights  and  measures  would  inflict  upon  the  retail  dealers,  but 
they  also  would  eventually  profit  by  extended  trade  and  facility  of  calcu- 


102 

lation.  It  was  shown  in  the  evidence  of  M.  Visschers,  of  Brussels,  that 
the  "  tradesmen  of  Belgium  were  much  benefited "  by  the  introduction  of 
the  metric  system ;  and  Mr.  Dickson  stated  that  its  advantages,  in  saving 
time  and  trouble,  were  felt  by  the  "  small  traders "  in  France.  Another 
objection  raised  by  the  opponents  of  the  metric  system  was,  that  it  did 
not  admit  of  the  same  binary  subdivisions  as  the  duodecimal  system.  That 
was  true.  But  we  give  a  power  of  using  the  binary  system  to  a  sufficient 
extent  in  our  bill,  and  our  mode  of  arithmetical  notation  being  (like  that 
of  other  nations)  decimal,  what  other  system  can  we  adopt  but  the  decimal  ? 
Repugnance  might  be  felt  to  the  use  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  terms  in  the 
metric  table.  But  in  our  bill  we  retain  the  English  units,  and  it  would  be 
easy  to  substitute  English  words  for  the  classic  terms  in  the  metric  scale. 
The  Greek  and  Latin  names  are  indeed  too  long.  They  presuppose  some 
knowledge  of  the  classic  languages,  and  all  experience  is  in  favor  of  mono- 
syllables, which  the  people  seem  to  have  chosen  as  the  most  rapid  vehicles 
for  bargain  and  sale.  The  pound,  the  ounce,  the  yard,  the  foot,  and  many 
more  such  terms,  prove  this  tendency.  (Hear,  hear.)  Nevertheless  it  was 
easy,  even  for  a  child,  to  learn  the  French  metric  table,  with  all  its  Greek 
and  Latin  numerals.  Could  every,  or  any,  member  present  correctly  repeat 
the  English  table  of  weights  and  measures  ?  (Laughter  and  cheers.)  Yet 
all  of  them,  he  thought,  could  learn  the  French  metric  table  in  a  quarter  of 
an  hour.  In  fact,  they  had  only  to  learn  seven  prefixes  and  four  principal 
units.  On  the  whole,  he  was  justified  in  concluding  that  the  disadvantages 
ascribed  to  the  metric  system  were  slight  and  transitory ;  the  advantages 
substantial  and  lasting.  But,  it  may  be  said,  the  adoption  of  the  metric 
system  of  weights  and  measures  would  be  incomplete  without  a  decimal 
system  of  coinage.  That  he  granted ;  but,  when  a  decimal  system  of  coin- 
age was  under  consideration,  a  great  authority,  Lord  Overstone,  said,  that 
"  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  decide  in  favor  of  a  decimal  coinage  without 
determining  the  best  course  as  to  other  parts  of  the  metric  system.  If  the 
number  ten  should  be  selected  as  the  base  of  the  general  metric  system,  the 
question  of  the  coinage  would  be  greatly  simplified."  And  in  other  parts 
of  his  report,  Lord  Overstone  seemed  to  think  that  the  consideration  of  a 
decimal  system  of  weights  and  measures  ought  to  precede  the  consideration 
of  a  decimal  coinage.  In  his  (Mr.  E  wart's)  opinion  they  ought  to  be  as  nearly 
as  possible  simultaneous,  but  the  introduction  of  the  metric  system  of  weights 
and  measures  would,  in  itself,  be  a  great  acquisition.  (Hear,  hear.)  Revert- 
ing to  the  former  part  of  his  speech,  he  thought  he  had  established  the  fol- 
lowing propositions  —  that  the  present  state  of  our  weights  and  measures  is 
intolerable ;  that  it  is  growing  worse  as  our  internal  trade  increases ;  that  it 
impedes  our  trade  with  foreign  nations,  and  will  impede  it  more  as  that 
trade  increases ;  that  other  countries  have  adopted,  and  are  rapidly  adopting, 
the  metric  system ;  that  it  is  acknowledged  to  be  a  great  boon  by  all  the 


103 

countries  in  which  it  has  been  established ;  that  our  trade  with  the  nations 
using  it  is  rapidly  extending ;  that  it  would  save  time  in  commercial  opera- 
tions ;  that  it  would  confer  great  advantages  on  our  machine-makers  and 
manufacturers ;  that  it  would  save  a  large  amount  of  time  in  education ; 
lastly,  that  if  we  failed  to  adopt  it  we  should  be  behind  almost  all  the 
nations  of  Europe.  At  all  events  (said  the  honorable  gentleman)  let  us  not 
remain  in  the  "  slough  of  despond,"  or  the  "  Serbonian  bog  "  in  which  we 
are  engulfed.  We  have  achieved  the  great  victory  of  free  trade ;  let  us 
adopt  the  machinery  by  which  free  trade  may  be  set  in  motion  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  Let  us  remember  that  different  provinces  of  the  same 
country  were  once  distracted  and  divided  by  discordant  systems  of  weights 
and  measures,  as  different  nations  are  now.  Why  should  not  one  uniform 
system  bind  countries,  as  it  has  bound  provinces  together  ?  We  have,  by 
solemn  treaty,  interwoven  our  interests  with  those  of  France  and  of  other 
nations.  Let  us,  by  adopting  a  common  system  of  weights  and  measures, 
give  to  our  commercial  intercourse  a  common  language.  Let  us,  in  the 
words  of  one  of  our  greatest  moral  and  religious  poets,  not  only 

"Give  to  the  north  the  products  of  the  sun," 
but  also 

'   "Knit  the  united  nations  into  one." 

So  shall  we  best  pursue  and  accomplish  the  great  mission  prescribed  to  all 
nations,  but  pre-eminently  to  our  own — to  promote  the  peace,  by  extending 
the  commerce,  of  the  world.  (Cheers.) 

Mr.  Henley  said  he  had  certainly  expressed  an  opinion  that  the  metrical 
system  was  a  good  one,  but  that  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  whe- 
ther it  was  desirable  to  agree  to  the  bill  which  made  so  great  a  change  as 
that  now  proposed.  No  one  was  more  sensible  of  the  inconvenience  and 
uncertainty  of  the  present  system  of  weights  and  measures  than  himself. 
The  imperial  bushel  was  definite  a  measure  as  could  be  set  up,  and  twenty  or 
thirty  years  ago  the  legislature  attempted  to  make  that  the  uniform  bushel. 
The  imperial  bushel  was  declared  to  consist  of  a  certain  number  of  cubic  inches. 
All  bargains  made  in  any  other  bushels  were  declared  void,  and  penalties 
were  enforced  against  those  who  used  any  other.  What  had  been  the  result  ? 
The  bushel  still  meant  one  thing  in  one  town,  and  another  elsewhere ;  nay, 
people  who  went  to  the  same  market  could  not  always  agree  as  to  what  kind 
of  bushel  was  meant.  He  did  not  believe  that  a  more  stringent  law  could 
be  passed  to  enforce  the  use  of  a  new  metrical  system,  and  what  greater 
security  could  the  honorable  gentleman  have  that  his  new  weights  and  mea- 
sures would  be  adopted?  He  agreed  with  the  honorable  gentleman  that  it 
would  not  be  desirable  to  adopt  such  words  as  myriametres,  decametres 
and  centimetres.  He  did  not  think  they  would  ever  go  down  with  an  Eng- 
lish mouth.  (A  laugh.)  But  how  would  the  honorable  gentleman  prevent 
people  from  continuing  to  use  the  present  weights  and  measures?  He  did 


104 

not  believe  that  Parliament  could  prevent  it.  A  great  deal  has  been  said  of 
the  inconvenience  of  the  present  want  of  uniformity  in  the  foreign  trade. 
No  doubt,  if  it  had  pleased  God  that  there  should  never  have  been  a  Tower 
of  Babel,  it  would  have  been  a  great  convenience  to  merchants  and  those  who 
went  about  visiting  different  countries.  (A  laugh.)  But  the  honorable  gen- 
tleman could  not  bring  about  the  uniformity  he  desired  by  act  of  Parliament. 
(Hear.)  What  the  honorable  gentleman  had  said  about  France  was  not 
very  encouraging.  The  new  system  was  no  doubt  introduced  in  France  by 
very  scientific  men,  but  it  was  carried  after  the  French  revolution,  when 
everything  that  had  formerly  been  accepted  was  torn  up  and  displaced,  and 
when  the  mind  of  the  nation  was  engaged  in  setting  up  something  that  had 
not  existed  before.  The  honorable  gentleman  had  not  told  the  house  how 
many  years  had  gone  over  before  the  new  system  became  settled  in  France; 
but,  if  he  remembered  aright,  it  was  a  great  way  down  into  the  present  cen- 
tury. The  honorable  gentleman  told  the  house  something  about  the  spread 
of  the  French  system  over  other  countries,  but  he  did  not  tell  them  that  that 
was  materially  facilitated  by  the  French  occupation  of  those  countries  up  to 
1814 ;  that  all  those  countries  had  had  a  most  debased  coinage,  and  that  it 
was  a  great  benefit  to  them  to  have  the  French  20-franc  piece  in  their  deal- 
ings with  other  countries.  It  was  not  pretended  that  the  trade  of  this 
country  with  countries  which  had  the  metrical  system  was  to  be  compared 
for  a  moment  with  our  trade  with  countries  which  had  it  not,  and,  therefore, 
the  adoption  of  the  system  would  introduce  great  confusion  in  our  transac- 
tions with  the  latter.  (Hear,  hear.)  This  bill  did  not  take,  as  one  would 
have  expected,  the  French  metre  as  the  unit  of  measure.  The  French,  he 
believed,  took  the  ten-millionth  part  of  the  distance  between  the  equator 
and  the  pole,  but  the  bill  proposed  to  take  a  certain  multiple  and  decimal 
part  of  an  inch.  But,  then,  it  would  be  necessary  to  lay  down  what  an  inch 
was ;  and  if  we  wanted  to  know  whether  that  was  right  we  should  have  to 
march  over  to  Paris  to  compare  our  standard  with  the  French,  and  see  if 
they  agreed.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  Gallo-mania  going  about  this  coun- 
try and  elsewhere  just  now;  but  he  did  not  think  it  very  convenient  to  have 
to  settle  our  measures  by  going  over  to  France.  He  had  always  believed 
that  the  size  of  the  world  was  a  fixed  quantity,  but  learned  pundits  were  of 
opinion  that  the  world  was  growing.  (A  laugh.)  If  that  were  the  case  the 
quarter  of  it  must  be  growing  too,  and  then  what  was  to  become  of  the 
metre  ?  (Laughter.)  While  the  earth  was  growing,  perhaps  the  scientific 
men  in  France  might  find  some  little  variation  in  their  metre.  (Hear.)  It 
would  not  be  very  easy  to  establish  that  Chinese  exactness  in  all  things 
which  was  expected.  But  coming  to  the  practical  part  of  the  business,  the 
tithe  was  levied  on  land  measured  by  the  acre,  and  was  it  a  light  thing  to 
unsettle  the  tithe  commutation  ?  Was  it  a  light  thing  to  compel  people, 
from  the  great  millionaires  down  to  the  poor  shopkeeper  who  had  not  a  £5 


105 

note  in  the  world,  to  get  a  new  set  of  weights  and  measures  ?  (Hear,  hear.) 
The  benefit  to  be  obtained  ought  to  be  very  great  and  certain  before  putting 
people  to  that  inconvenience.  (Hear,  hear.)  Then  the  foreign  names  would 
be  very  inconvenient,  and  would  never  suit  the  mouths  of  Englishmen. 
(Hear,  hear.)  It  was  proposed  to  remedy  that  by  the  introduction  of  a  sort 
of  Graeco-Latin  names,  such  as  decil  or  deil;  but  if  he  knew  anything  of  his 
countrymen,  they  would  soon  get  to  corrupt  such  a  word  into  devil.  (A 
laugh.)  It  would  be  a  very  good  thing,  no  doubt,  to  have  a  uniformity  in 
language  and  other  things  all  over  the  world,  but  we  had  not  arrived  at  that 
yet ;  and  the  question  was,  whether  the  evil  and  inconvenience  of  the  pro- 
posed change  to  the  greater  number  of  the  people  woujd  not  more  than 
counterbalance  the  advantages.  (Hear,  hear.)  He  believed  it  would ;  that 
the  uncertainty  under  the  new  system  would  be  quite  as  great  as  existed  at 
present,  and  he  was  therefore  disposed  to  vote  against  the  bill. 

Mr.  Locke  said  he  had  paid  some  attention  to  this  subject,  and  he  con- 
curred in  several  of  the  remarks  that  had  fallen  from  the  right  honorable 
gentleman  (Mr.  Henley).  No  doubt  great  inconvenience  would  arise  in  the 
ordinary  transactions  of  life  if  this  system  were  introduced,  but  he  did  not 
think  that  such  inconvenience  existed  in  our  mercantile  transactions  -with 
foreign  nations.  His  honorable  friend  who  had  introduced  this  bill  was  no 
doubt  familiar  with  that  popular  work,  Murray's  Handbook  of  France,  and 
would  remember  that  in  the  first  pages  of  that  book  there  were  tables  giv- 
ing the  comparative  value  of  coins  of  the  two  countries,  and  also  the  com- 
parative proportions  of  their  weights  and  measures.  But  there  was  no 
doubt  our  system  of  weights  and  measures  was  a  most  inconvenient  one. 
It  was  perfectly  immaterial  what  we  took  for  our  unit ;  the  difficulty  arose 
from  the  complicated  way  in  which  the  unit  was  dealt  with.  The  troy 
weight,  for  instance,  was  very  different  from  the  avoirdupois.  In  the  one 
case  12  ounces,  in  the  other  case  16  ounces  made  a  pound;  and  then  we  had 
grains  and  pennyweights  and  drams,  and  to  learn  the  distinction  between 
these  different  weights  was  to  the  youthful  part  of  the  population  one  of  the 
most  painful  processes  which  they  had  to  undergo.  (A  laugh.)  But  if  the 
unit  were  treated  in  a  different  way  and  were  not  twisted  about,  there  would 
be  none  of  the  inconvenience  which  was  now  so  much  complained  of.  As 
an  instance  of  the  treatment  of  the  unit,  let  the  house  take  what  was  called 
the  imperial  measure  of  length:  12  inches  make  one  foot,  three  feet  one 
yard,  and  then  five  and  a  half  yards  one  rod,  pole,  or  perch.  The  right 
honorable  gentleman  seemed  to  think  there  would  be  some  difficulty  in  find- 
ing the  French  standard  and  comparing  it  with  the  metre  proposed  by  the 
bill;  but  that  was  not  the  case.  If  the  right  honorable  gentleman,  the  next 
time  he  was  in  Paris,  would  go  to  the  Place  Vendome,  he  would  find  the 
metre  there  already  made  to  his  hand,  painted  in  a  most  conspicuous  place 
on  the  front  of  one  of  the  government  offices.  (Hear,  hear.)  The  right 
14 


106 

honorable  gentleman  was  mistaken  when  he  supposed  that  a  metre  different 
from  the  French  was  proposed  to  be  adopted  by  this  bill.  The  inch  and 
parts  of  an  inch  in  the  bill  made  up  the  exact  measure  of  the  French  metre. 
(Hear,  hear.)  But  while  he  gave  great  credit  to  his  honorable  friend  who 
had  introduced  the  bill,  he  thought  that  an  effort  should  have  been  made  to 
perfect  the  present  law,  with  a  view  to  uniformity.  By  the  5th  and  6th 
William  IV,  cap.  63,  sec.  6,  all  local  and  customary  measures  were  abol- 
ished, and  a  penalty  imposed  on  persons  selling  by  any  denomination  of 
measure  other  than  by  one  of  the  imperial  measures.  If  the  section  had 
stopped  there  the  law  would  have  been  perfect,  and  uniformity  in  the  use  of 
measures  clearly  established ;  but  at  the  instance  of  interested  parties,  the 
House  was  induced  to  introduce  a  proviso,  which  had  entirely  defeated  the 
object  of  that  section  of  the  act.  The  proviso  was  as  follows :  "  That  noth- 
ing herein  contained  shall  prevent  the  sale  of  any  article  in  any  vessel,  where 
such  vessel  is  not  represented  as  containing  any  amount  of  imperial  measure, 
or  of  any  fixed  local  or  customary  measure  heretofore  in  use."  So  that 
articles  were  now  sold  in  all  kinds  and  descriptions  of  vessels,  whose  capa- 
city was  undefined.  In  the  year  1858,  he  (Mr.  Locke)  had  introduced  a  bill 
to  amend  the  5th  and  6th  William  IV,  cap.  63,  which  bill  contained  a  clause 
for  the  regulation  of  the  sale  of  fruit  and  vegetables,  requiring  that  all  ves- 
sels other  than  the  imperial  measures  used  for  that  purpose  should  have 
marked  upon  them  the  amount  of  imperial  measure  which  they  contained. 
This  clause  had  been  strenuously  opposed  by  market-gardeners  and  others, 
and  he  (Mr.  Locke)  had  met  a  deputation  from  these  parties  at  the  Board  of 
Trade,  before  the  right  honorable  gentleman  the  member  for  Oxfordshire, 
who  took  the  side  of  the  market-gardeners.  However,  the  bill  had  been 
defeated  only  by  a  majority  of  eight.  He  (Mr.  Locke)  had  brought  it  in 
again  the  next  year,  and  passed,  but  with  this  clause  omitted.  Thus  by  this 
proviso  in  the  section  regulating  measures  the  intention  of  the  act  had  been 
entirely  evaded ;  but  how  did  the  law  stand  with  regard  to  weights  ?  The 
llth  section  commenced  by  defining  what  a  stone  should  be  —  it  was  to  con- 
sist of  14  pounds;  and  at  the  end  of  the  section  a  proviso  was  introduced, 
which  stated  that  that  was  not  to  interfere  with  selling  by  the  pound,  or  any 
multiple  or  aliquot  part  of  the  pound.  A  case  came  before  Baron  MAETIN  at 
the  Middlesex  sittings,  in  Michaelmas  term,  1853,  which  was  afterwards 
argued  in  the  court  of  exchequer,  June  15,  1854,  and  again  in  the  exchequer 
chamber,  June  30,  1855,  (Jones  and  Another  vs.  Giles  and  Another,  10 
Exchequer  Reports,  p.  119,  and  11  Exchequer  Reports,  p.  393,)  in  which  a 
bargain  had  been  made  by  what  was  called  "the  long  ton,"  consisting  of 
2,400  pounds ;  but  as  that  was  not  one  of  the  legal  weights  named  in  the 
act,  one  of  the  parties  refused  to  complete  the  bargain.  It  was,  however, 
decided  that  "the  long  ton,"  after  all,  was  a  multiple  of  a  pound,  and  that,  if 
the  legislature  had  intended  to  exclude  "  the  long  ton,"  they  should  have  intro- 


107 

duced  such  words  as  "multiple  of  a  pound  niinicrirnlly  expressed."  Now,  if 
the  words  "numerically  expressed"  were  introduced  into  the  5th  and  6th  Wil- 
liam IV,  a  perfect  certainty  would  be  obtained.  If  the  names  given  to  weights 
and  measures  used  in  diiferent  places  meant  the  same  thing,  there  would  be  no 
difficulty,  but  they  meant  a  different  thing  in  every  different  place.  (Hear,  hear.) 
The  consequence  was,  that,  with  respect  to  measures,  the  introduction  of 
the  proviso  in  the  6th  section,  and  the  absence  of  the  words  "  numerically 
expressed"  in  the  llth,  opened  the  door  to  all  the  inconvenience.  There 
would  no  doubt  be  great  difficulty  in  carrying  such  a  system  as  was  now 
proposed  into  effect.  He  would,  however,  support  the  second  reading,  hop- 
ing that  at  a  subsequent  stage  some  useful  suggestions  might  be  made.  It 
was  proved  before  the  committee  which  sat  in  ]  834,  on  the  sale  of  corn,  and 
over  which  the  right  honorable  gentleman  the  present  speaker  presided,  that 
even  in  France  people  could  not  be  induced  to  adopt  the  metrical  system. 

Mr.  Baines.     It  was  not  compulsory  before  1837. 

Mr.  Locke.  Well,  there  was  one  thing  they  all  had  to  do  with  when  they 
went  over  to  France,  though  he  did  not  know  that  his  honorable  friend  (Mr. 
Baines)  had,  and  that  was  the  wine-bottle.  (A  laugh.)  But  every  honorable 
gentleman  knew  that  the  French  bottle,  and  more  especially  the  German 
bottle,  varied  very  much ;  it  was  growing  "  small  by  degrees  and  beautifully 
less,"  and  he  was  satisfied  that  the  ingenuity  of  that  great  nation  would 
make  it  smaller  and  smaller,  till  it  reached  the  vanishing  point  at  last. 
(Laughter.)  He  was  informed  that  in  the  country  districts  of  France  the 
people  still  used  the  weights  and  measures  which  their  ancestors  did,  and 
such  as  Napoleon  I,  were  he  resuscitated,  would  have  approved.  In 
answer  to  a  question  it  was  stated  some  few  nights  back  that  the  standards 
of  weights  and  measures  had  not  been  reverified  for  the  last  thirty  or  forty 
years;  and  previously  to  his  introducing  a  bill  in  1859,  and  which  passed, 
being  the  22d  and  23d  Vic.,  c.  56,  he  was  informed  that  the  models  or  copies 
of  the  imperial  standards  deposited  in  the  several  districts  for  the  inspection 
of  weights  and  measures  in  course  of  time  became  incorrect,  and  therefore, 
in  that  bill  a  clause  was  contained,  making  it  necessary  that  these  models 
should  at  stated  periods  be  reverified ;  but  if  the  models  were  to  be  com- 
pared with  the  standards  in  the  metropolis,  it  was  necessary  that  the  latter 
should  be  ascertained  to  be  correct.  He  was  told,  however,  that  such  was 
not  the  case,  and  that  these  standards  were  bricked  up  in  one  of  the  walls 
of  this  house,  and  never  used  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  intended. 
This  was  certainly  a  very  curious  state  of  things,  and  should  the  New  Zealan- 
der  who  was  pictured  viewing  at  some  future  time  the  ruins  of  this  city,  dis- 
cover them,  he  would  no  doubt  exclaim,  "  That  was  a  most  wonderful  and 
extraordinary  people!"  On  one  occasion  he  moved  for  a  return  of  the 
number  of  convictions  which  had  taken  place  throughout  the  country  for 
selling  by  false  weights  and  measures;  and  he  was  told  that  the  return 


108 

would  be  most  voluminous.  He  consequently  limited  the  return  to  the 
metropolis,  and  it  was  voluminous  then.  The  great  majority  of  the  offenses 
which  had  been  committed  were  of  the  most  trifling  description,  but  he  was 
informed  that  the  magistrates  considered  that  they  were  obliged  to  impose 
a  fine,  when  it  was  shown  that  weights  and  measures  were  not  accurate,  and 
that  they  had  no  right  to  inquire  whether  the  use  of  these  inaccurate  weights 
and  measures  was  willful  or  not.  This  was  a  very  great  hardship  on  trades- 
men, and  he  wished  that  that  House  would  attempt  to  perfect  the  English 
system  before  adopting  a  French  one.  He  did  not  think  that  there  was  any 
difficulty  at  present  about  the  imperial  bushel.  They  all  knew  what  its  con- 
tents were ;  but  the  difficulty  was  in  preventing  persons  from  using  a  local 
or  customary  bushel,  or  something  they  chose  to  call  a  bushel.  He  wished 
his  honorable  friend,  the  proposer  of  the  present  measure,  success  in  his 
attempt,  and  though  he  did  not  mean  to  say  that  he  would  support  all  its 
clauses,  yet  he  regarded  the  bill  as  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  and  capable 
of  affording  the  opportunity  of  remedying  the  inconveniences  of  the  present 
system.  (Hear,  hear.) 

Mr.  Pollard-Urquhart  observed  that  the  honorable  member  for  Oxford- 
shire had  dwelt  at  considerable  length  on  the  inconveniences  attendant  upon 
the  change  now  proposed,  but  it  was  satisfactorily  established  before  the 
select  committee  that  to  secure  uniformity  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
United  Kingdom  some  change  was  necessary.  If  that  were  so,  why  should 
not  the  best  standard  be  adopted — a  standard  which  would  facilitate  through- 
out the  whole  of  Europe  the  commercial  operations  of  this  country  ?  (Hear, 
hear.)  The  want  of  a  decimal  system  was  equivalent  to  a  tax  on  mercantile 
transactions ;  and  one  of  the  witnesses  before  the  committee  stated  that  it 
was  equal  to  a  tax  of  £10,000  a  year  on  the  profits  of  the  London  and 
Northwestern  railway.  In  these  days  of  free  trade,  was  it  right  that  this 
heavy  tax  should  be  continued  on  book-keeping  and  exchanges?  It  had 
been  remarked  by  Sir  K.  Hill  that,  for  want  of  a  system  such  as  the  honor- 
able member  for  Dumfries  advocated,  great  difficulty  was  experienced  in 
arranging  postal  treaties  and  fixing  international'  rates  of  postage.  This 
difficulty  was  felt  more  and  more  every  day,  and  he  sincerely  hoped  that  the 
government,  who  came  into  office  very  much  on  the  free-trade  principle, 
would  give  their  support  to  the  bill  of  the  honorable  member  for  Dumfries. 

Mr.  Adderley  said  that  no  one  had  denied  that  some  simplification  of  the 
present  English  system  was  desirable.  One  could  not  hear  of  twenty  various 
bushels,  and  fractional  computations  of  relative  values,  without  recognizing 
the  disadvantage  under  which  English  commerce  labors.  In  reply  to  the 
honorable  gentleman  who  spoke  last  but  one,  and  who  objected  to  going  to 
France  for  a  pattern  before  the  system  in  England  should  be  improved,  he 
remarked  that  the  best  way  to  improve  the  system  in  England  was  to  adopt 
the  system  in  France,  because  it  was  a  good  system,  and  because,  a  world- 


109 

•wide  commerce  being  the  subject,  it  was  a  principal  requisite  to  adopt  :i 
system  which  was  already  understood  in  a  great  number  of  countries. 
(Hear,  hear.)  It  was  better,  he  thought,  when  an  object  was  confessed  to 
be  most  desirable,  to  manifest  wisdom  in  endeavoring  to  attain  it,  than  to 
exercise  wit  in  showing  up  the  difficulties  connected  with  it.  He  conceived 
that  the  difficulties  suggested  by  the  right  honorable  member  for  Oxford- 
shire were  most  far-fetched  and  absurd.  The  right  honorable  gentleman 
spoke  of  the  French  metre,  and  of  some  fantastical  notion  of  the  growth  of 
the  earth,  which  might  throw  out  calculations  based  on  a  fraction  of  its 
meridian,  but  the  right  honorable  gentleman  must  be  aware  that  the  basis 
of  the  English  measure  of  length  was  the  "  seconds  pendulum,"  and  that 
that  depended  on  gravitation,  which  would  equally  vary  with  his  fantastical 
supposition.  The  introduction  of  a  more  simple  system  of  weights  and 
measures  would  be  an  enormous  addition  to  the  wealth  of  this  country,  as 
railways,  by  economy  of  time  and  facilitation  of  commerce,  had  been  practi- 
cally increments  of  national  capital.  (Hear,  hear.)  The  right  honorable 
gentleman  seemed  to  think  that  during  the  French  revolution  everything 
new  was  set  up  and  everything  old  was  cast  down,  and  he  supposes  every- 
thing new  must  be  bad  and  everything  old  good.  This  metrical  system 
certainly  was  one  of  the  wonderful  products  of  the  seething  brain  of  revo- 
lutionary Europe ;  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  hardly  anything  could  be 
more  beneficial  than  the  simple  process  of  calculation  which  was  now  under 
the  consideration  of  the  House ;  and  it  was  a  rational  proposition,  wherever 
it  came  from,  that  this  country  should  take  the  unit  which  so  many  countries 
of  the  world  had  already  satisfactorily  adopted.  (Hear,  hearr)  The  metri- 
cal unit  of  measure  at  once  applied  to  calculations  of  length,  area,  capacity, 
and  weight ;  and  with  singular  luck  it  was,  within  a  tenth,  identical  with 
our  existing  yard,  so  that  our  adoption  of  the  metre  would  little  vary  our 
old  calculations.  There  was,  of  course,  a  difficulty  connected  with  the 
introduction  into  this  country  of  a  new  system  and  a  new  nomenclature,  for 
their  adoption  must  inevitably  be  repugnant  to  English  conservatism,  and 
could  not  be  so  easily  enforced  in  this  country  as  in  nations  where  the 
government  was  autocratic.  The  difficulties  of  a  new  nomenclature  had  been 
exaggerated  and  caricatured ;  but  even  Englishmen  might  as  soon  learn  to 
drink  a  tentol  as  to  invest  in  consols ;  the  etymology  was  not  more  fanciful 
in  one  than  in  the  other.  He  did  not  think  that  the  honorable  gentleman 
would  pass  his  bill  as  a  compulsory  measure.  But  there  were  other  modes 
of  facilitating  the  introduction  of  the  system  the  honorable  gentleman  advo- 
cated. The  system,  in  fact,  was  rapidly  introducing  itself  by  its  own  beauty, 
and  by  the  necessity  of  the  case.  In  all  the  large  transactions  of  the  country, 
and  in  various  departments,  such  as  the  mint,  the  Bank  of  England,  and  the 
post  office — in  short,  wherever  operations  were  on  a  very  extended  scale,  or 
in  concert  with  foreigners,  it  proved,  not  a  matter  of  choice,  but  of  necessity. 


110 

In  respect  to  science,  it  was  impossible  to  have  any  other  system,  for  the 
calculations  were  constantly  growing  much  larger  than  they  used  to  be,  and 
the  old  system  was  not  found  sufficient  for  modern  science.  Students  in 
mathematics  were  kept  back  in  their  pursuit,  if  they  attempted  to  make  use 
of  the  old  system,  by  which  the  higher  branches  of  mathematics  could  not 
be  reached,  and  the  adoption  of  a  new  system  was  also,  in  reference  to 
international  commerce,  imperative.  (Hear.)  Under  these  circumstances 
he  would  suggest  that  all  means  should  be  made  use  of  for  facilitating  the 
self-introduction  of  the  new  system.  The  children  of  the  laboring  classes 
were  now  in  schools  aided  by  the  state,  and  the  department  of  education 
had  more  or  less  the  pqwer  of  teaching  that  system  to  the  next  generation 
of  the  working  men  of  this  country,  employed  as  they  would  be  all  over  the 
world.  Diagrams  illustrating  its  simplicity  might  be  distributed  throughout 
the  kingdom.  We  were  spending  a  million  yearly  now  in  conquering  "  the 
three  r's  at  elementary  schools.  This  system  would  reduce  one  of  them  to 
easy  conquest.  Compound  arithmetic  would  cease.  Another  mode  by 
which  the  introduction  of  the  new  system  might  be  facilitated  would  be  by 
the  government  going  on  a  little  faster  in  making  their  departments  adopt 
it.  Every  department  into  which  the  system  might  be  introduced  would  be 
found  able  to  reduce  the  number  of  clerks,  and  consequently  this  became 
also  a  money  question.  (Hear,  hear.)  It  had  been  alleged  that  the  present 
law  on  weights  and  measures  was  rendered  nugatory  by  the  permissive 
clause  which  relieved  from  penalty  those  who  used  measures,  though  not 
imperial,  provided  they  did  not  profess  to  be  so.  But  that  proviso  seemed 
to  him  to  suggest  exactly  the  right  way  to  proceed  with  any  legislation  in 
England  on  the  subject.  They  might  now  legalize  the  metrical  weights  and 
measures,  or  even  substitute  them  as  imperial  for  those  now  so  designated, 
leaving  it  a  matter  of  permission  to  use  others,  but  not  as  imperial  or 
standard.  An  amending  bill  of  the  existing  statutes,  to  this  effect,  would, 
in  his  mind,  be  the  most  practical  measure  to  attempt.  He  thought  it  was 
not  necessary  that  the  bill  should  be  compulsory  in  its  enactments,  and  he 
therefore  suggested  that  it  should  be  converted  into  a  permissive  measure. 
The  decimal  coinage  must  no  doubt  follow  the  adoption  of  the  decimal  sys- 
tem of  weights  and  measures,  but  it  was  not  necessary  to  complicate  the 
matter  by  propounding  the  two  subjects  at  once.  (Hear,  hear.) 

Mr.  Baines  would  not  detain  the  House  more  than  a  few  moments,  because 
he  saw  his  honorable  friend,  the  member  for  Rochdale  (Mr.  Cobden,)  who, 
he  hoped,  would  tell  the  House  the  results  of  his  great  experience  of  the 
English  and  French  systems  during  the  negotiation  of  the  late  commercial 
treaty.  He  would,  however,  draw  the  attention  of  the  House  briefly  to  two 
points :  the  first  was,  the  great  number  of  eminent  authorities  who  were  in 
favor  of  the  new  and  improved  system.  The  chambers  of  commerce  through- 
out the  country  had  almost  all  petitioned  in  favor  of  the  measure.  The 


Ill 

international  statistical  congress,  composed  of  the  most  able  statists  of  all 
nations,  had  also  passed  resolutions  to  the  same  effect.  The  jurors  of  the 
great  exhibition  of  1851  and  1862,  comprising  men  eminent  in  trade,  science 
and  official  life,  were  almost  unanimous  in  recommending  the  metric  system, 
which  was  the  simplest,  easiest,  most  scientific  and  perfect  that  had  ever 
been  devised.  (Hear,  hear.)  It  was  of  the  utmost  importance  that  a  people 
so  largely  engaged  in  trade  as  we  were  should  discard  the  present  compli- 
cated, vicious  and  irregular  system  for  the  new  and  improved  one.  M. 
Michel  Chevalier  had  described  the  ease  and  celerity  with  which  the  metric 
system  had  been  introduced  into  France.  A  law  was  passed  in  July,  1837, 
rendering  it  compulsory  on  and  after  the  1st  January,  1840,  but  it  was  very 
generally  in  operation  before  that  time  arrived.  (Hear,  hear.)  In  1841,  M. 
Chevalier,  in  the  course  of  a  long  journey,  on  inquiring  of  the  postilions  as 
to  distances,  found  that  they  almost  invariably  calculated  by  kilometres,  and 
not  by  the  old  measure  of  postes.  The  second  point  to  which  he  would 
refer  was  the  very  great  gain  there  would  be  to  the  education  of  the  young 
from  the  introduction  of  the  metric  system.  It  had  been  estimated,  on 
reliable  grounds,  that  as  much  as  a  year's  schooling  would  be  saved  to  the 
young  by  the  adoption  of  the  easy  and  improved  method,  instead  of  the 
present  difficult  one.  As  there  were  2,000,000^  children  in  this  country  in 
the  course  of  receiving  their  education,  it  was  easy  to  conceive  the  immense 
saving  of  time  which  would  thus  be  secured.  (Hear,  hear.)  If  put  in  an 
arithmetical  form,  it  would  give  the  startling  result  of  a  gain  to  the  nation 
of  two  millions  of  years  with  every  generation  of  children  who  passed 
through  their  schools.  This  would  not  indeed  be  a  money  saving,  but  it 
would  not  the  less  be  a  real  saving,  inasmuch  as  it  would  enable  the  young 
to  acquire  other  branches  of  knowledge  and  a  more  perfect  education.  He 
thought,  therefore,  the  advantages  of  the  new  system  would  be  vast  and 
permanent,  and  such  as  immeasurably  to  outweigh  the  inconveniences  of 
the  change.  (Hear,  hear.) 

Sir  M.  Farquhar  observed  that  the  committee  comprised  representatives 
from  each  division  of  the  empire — England,  Scotland  and  Ireland — who  had 
come  almost  unanimously  to  a  conclusion  in  favor  of  the  metric  system.  He 
supposed  his  honorable  friend  would  accept  the  modifications  which  had 
been  suggested,  and  would  withdraw  the  compulsory  clauses  of  his  bill.  If 
the  system  were  gradually  introduced,  it  might,  in  course  of  time,  be  estab- 
lished as  a  whole.  The  extraordinary  diversity  of  weights  and  measures 
which  now  prevailed  was  intolerably  perplexing.  Professor  Leone  Levi,  in 
an  able  pamphlet  on  the  subject,  observed : 

"  For  measures  of  length  we  have  the  ordinary  inch,  foot  and  yard.  In 
cloth  measure  we  have  yards,  nails  and  ells.  There  are  four  different  sorts 
of  ells.  For  nautical  purposes  we  have  fathoms,  knots,  leagues  and  geo- 
graphical miles,  differing  from  the  common  mile.  The  fathom  of  a  man-of- 


112 

war  is  6  feet ;  of  a  merchant  vessel,  5|  feet ;  of  a  fishing  smack  5  feet.  We 
have  also  the  Scotch  and  Irish  mile,  and  the  Scotch  and  Irish  acre.  There 
are  several  sorts  of  acres  in  the  United  Kingdom,  and  there  are  a  great 
variety  of  roods.  We  have  in  almost  every  trade  measures  of  length  specially 
used  in  those  trades.  For  the  measurement  of  horses  we  have  the  hand ; 
shoemakers  use  sizes;  and  we  are  compelled  to  adopt  gauges  where  the 
French  use  the  millimetre.  The  gauges  are  entirely  arbitrary.  The  custom 
of  the  trade  is  the  only  thing  which  would  decide  the  question  in  case  of 
dispute.  For  measures  of  capacity  we  have  twenty  different  bushels.  We 
can  scarcely  tell  what  the  hogshead  means.  For  ale  it  is  54  gallons ;  for 
wine,  63.  Pipes  of  wine  vary  in  many  ways ;  each  sort  of  wine  seems  to 
claim  the  privilege  of  a  different  sort  of  pipe.  For  measures  of  weight  we 
have  about  ten  different  stones ;  a  stone  of  wool  in  Darlington  is  1 8  pounds  ; 
a  stone  of  flax  at  Downpatrick,  24  pounds;  a  stone  of  flax  at  Belfast,  16f 
pounds,  but  it  is  also  at  Belfast  24^  pounds,  having  in  one  place  two  values. 
The  cwt.  may  mean  100  pounds,  112  pounds  or  120  pounds.  If  you  buy  an 
ounce  or  a  pound  of  anything  you  must  inquire  if  it  belongs  to  Dutch,  troy, 
or  avoirdupois  weight." 

It  was  surely  high  time  that  these  anomalies  should  be  corrected.  (Hear.) 
France,  Holland,  Belgium,  Italy,  Spain,  Greece,  and  several  other  countries, 
even  down  to  some  of  those  of  South  America,  had  adopted  the  metric  sys- 
tem, and  others  were  anxious  to  introduce  it.  Why,  then,  should  we  not  be 
able  to  do  so  ?  Some  thought  that  our  present  system  should  be  amended, 
and  advised  that,  we  should  be  satisfied  with  the  introduction  of  uniformity 
in  our  own  weights  and  measures,  whilst  others  urged  that  it  would  be  far 
better  that  England  should  establish  a  system  which  would  not  only  be 
uniform  within  our  limits,  but  in  accordance  with  that  of  those  nations 
which  had  accepted  the  metric  system.  (Hear.)  The  last  course  would 
certainly  be  the  most  desirable  one.  The  whole  world  traded  with  us ;  and 
if  a  uniform  system  could  be  established  between  us  and  the  other  nations, 
many  existing  difficulties  would  be  corrected,  and  the  interests  of  the  trading 
community,  both  here  and  abroad,  materially  advanced.  (Hear,  hear.)  His 
honorable  friend  said  that  the  Emperor  Napoleon  had  been  a  supporter  of 
the  metric  system  until  he  put  on  the  imperial  purple,  when  he  became  a 
tory.  Now  he  (Sir  M.  Farquhar)  did  not  know  what  a  Napoleonic  tory 
meant,  but  his  honorable  friend  was  mistaken  if  he  thought  that  the  party 
among  whom  he  had  the  honor  to  sit,  now  often  again  called  the  tory  party, 
was  opposed  to  the  introduction  of  improvements  and  well-considered 
reforms.  Stare  super  antiquas  vias  was  an  expression  which  he  cheerfully 
accepted  in  its  meaning  of  opposition  to  sudden  and  organic  changes  ;  but 
where  the  road  was  difficult,  he  for  one  was  anxious  to  have  it  made  easy ; 
where  it  was  rutty  and  heavy,  to  have  it  made  smooth  and  light.  (Hear, 
hear.)  There  were  no  doubt  difficulties  in  the  way  of  carrying  out  the  con- 


113 

templated  change,  but  they  were  not  insuperable,  and  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  daunt  the  supporters  of  the  improved  system.  There  was  habit, 
and  prejudice  too,  and  the  present  system  of  weights  and  measures  was  so 
impressed  upon  the  minds  of  those  who  used  them  in  their  different  locali- 
ties, that  the  change  to  another  and  uniform  plan  must  necessarily  require 
time.  He  trusted  his  honorable  friend  would  bring  his  measure  forward 
nuaiii  next  year  amended,  as  suggested,  and  he  had  no  doubt  he  would  then 
receive  the  support  of  the  house  and  the  country.  This  question  had  lately 
been  much  discussed  in  the  literary  and  scientific  institutions  of  the  country. 
He  had  received  a  communication  upon  this  subject,  about  a  fortnight  ago, 
from  the  members  of  the  literary  and  scientific  institution  in  the  town  of 
Hertford,  of  which  he  had  the  honor  to  be  one  of  the  representatives,  and 
this  morning  he  had  received  a  "  refresher,"  and  although  it  was  not  accom- 
panied by  the  fee  which  gentlemen  learned  in  the  law  knew  something  about 
(a  laugh),  he  should  be  happy  to  give  his  willing  support  to  the  efforts  of 
his  honorable  friend  to  introduce  the  metric  system  of  weights  and  measures 
into  this  country.  (Hear,  hear.) 

Mr.  Hubbard  reluctantly  fulfilled  the  ungrateful  task  of  objecting  to  a 
measure  prepared  by  men  of  great  intelligence  who  were  animated  by  no 
other  wish  than  that  of  promoting  (as  recited  in  the  preamble  of  the  bill) 
our  foreign  and  our  internal  trade ;  yet  he  felt  bound  to  express  the  con- 
viction which  he  formed  when  on  the  royal  commission  on  the  decimal 
question,  that  while  the  decimalization  of  coins  was,  on  the  whole,  inex- 
pedient, the  decimalization  of  weights  and  measures  was  out  of  the  question. 
(Hear,  hear.)  The  example  of  other  nations  had  been  cited,  but  it  should 
be  remembered  that  the  decimal  system  was  introduced  on  the  continent  at 
the  time  of  the  French  revolution,  when  men  were  prepared  to  accept  the 
most  extreme  changes,  and  when  it  was  contemplated  to  decimalize  not  only 
coins  and  weights  and  measures,  but  even  the  measurement  of  time.  9ne 
argument  in  favor  of  the  new  system  was  its  intrinsic  perfectibility,  but  let 
it  be  remembered  that  in  the  attempt  to  decimalize  time  the  reformers 
failed,  for  nature  itself  declared  against  them.  He  could  not  regard  the 
decimal  system  as  a  revelation  from  Heaven,  or  believe  that  the  present 
method  could  have  grown  up  without  possessing  some  convenience  or  adv.an- 
tage.  (Hear,  hear.)  France  had,  by  the  aid  of  conquest,  imposed  the  deci- 
mal system  on  some  of  her  neighbors,  and  other  adjoining  countries  had 
found  it  convenient  to  use  it  too.  That  was,  however,  no  reason  why 
England  should  adopt  it.  It  had  been  said  that  it  would  extend  by  facili- 
tating commerce.  As  a  merchant,  he  must  express  his  belief  that  its  intro- 
duction would  not  facilitate  in  the  slightest  degree  any  foreign  trade  which 
he  carried  on.  (Hear,  hear.)  It  would  not  diminish  the  price  of  any  com- 
modities that  were  imported,  or  affect  their  quantity.  Of  course  the  calcu- 
lations of  price  and  quantity  would  be  more  simple  and  more  rapid  under  a 
15 


114 

decimal  metric  system,  and  thus,  as  far  as  mere  counting-house  work  was 
concerned,  some  economy  might  be  effected.  (Hear,  hear.)  A  house  carry- 
ing on  a  large  business  might  perhaps  save  the  salary  of  a  clerk.  (A  laugh.) 
As  to  the  operations  in  bills  of  exchange,  the  equivalents  were  so  familiar 
to  merchants  that  they  experienced  no  difficulty  now,  and  needed  no  relief. 
The  honorable  member  for  Leeds  had  stated  the  saving  of  time  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  young,  through  the  use  of  the  new  method  in  very  formidable 
figures.  If  it  were  true  that  a  whole  year  was  thrown  away  at  present, 
then  he  would  willingly  agree  to  the  change,  but  he  could  not  admit  the 
correctness  of  that  statement.  Could  it  be  said  that  to  teach  a  child  to 
multiply  and  divide  decimally  constituted  a  sufficient  arithmetical  education  ? 
Admitting  that  the  more  complex  rules  now  requisite  for  children  to  learn 
occupied  an  additional  portion  of  their  school  life,  was  the  time  so  expended 
wasted  ?  Was  it  not  rather  well  bestowed  in  improving  their  intelligence  ? 
(Oh,  and  hear,  hear.)  The  value  of  education  did  not  consist  in  merely 
enabling  a  child  to  buy  a  pound  of  butter  or  an  ounce  of  snuff,  but  in  the 
development  of  his  mental  powers,  so  as  to  render  him  in  after  life  a  wise 
and  useful  citizen.  (Hear,  hear.)  Therefore  he  did  not  grudge  this  additional 
year  spent  at  school,  and  could  not  allow  that  it  was  wasted.  In  consider- 
ing the  convenience  of  the  new  system,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  a  vast 
number  of  small  trade  transactions  were  carried  on  by  old  women,  children 
and  illiterate  men  in  the  markets,  streets  and  alleys  of  every  large  town. 
How  would  these  people  be  able  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  change  ?  Their 
monetary  unit  was  the  penny — their  unit  of  weight  was  the  pound — most 
of  their  staple  articles  of  consumption  were  bought  by  the  pound  or  by  its 
aliquot  parts,  and  paid  for  by  the  penny  or  its  quarter  parts.  These  standards, 
either  of  quantity  or  value,  were  familiar  to  their  minds,  and  a  change  in 
either  would  produce  a  serious  and  universal  annoyance.  It  was  right  that 
their  case  should  be  taken  into  account  in  dealing  with  this  matter.  Fifty 
years  after  the  decimal  system  had  been  introduced  into  France  it  was  found 
necessary  to  enforce  it  by  a  compulsory  law.  Was  the  House  prepared  to 
carry  out  this  measure  by  imposing  penalties  on  the  great  body  of  the 
people  ?  Such  measures  might  be  very  well  for  despots,  but  they  did  not 
suit  the  genius  of  the  English  people.  (Hear,  hear.)  Even  at  this  moment 
the  system  was  not  perfect  in  France.  In  parts  of  France  the  old  weights 
and  measures  were  still  in  use.  Even  in  Paris  one  found  that  the  bougies 
were  practically  sold  by  the  old  measure,  for  they  were  done  up  in  packets 
of  as  many  grammes  as  made  the  livre.  (Hear,  hear.)  It  had  been  said  that 
the  advantages  of  the  metric  system  were  permanent  and  positive,  while  its 
disadvantages  were  only  temporary  and  accidental.  He  denied  its  advan- 
tages ;  and  when  it  was  said  it  would  entail  inconvenience  only  on  the  next 
generation  or  two,  he  must  observe  that  that  was  really  no  small  matter. 
(Hear,  hear.)  It  had  been  said  that  Lord  Overstone  had  expressed  the 


115 

opinion  that  the  decimalization  of  weights  and  measures  and  of  the  coinage 
should  go  together ;  but  he  was  able  to  state  that  his  lordship  meant  only 
that  a  perfect  system  would  involve  that  duplicate  decimalization,  and  did 
not  in  the  least  intend  to  give  any  countenance  whatever  to  a  change  in 
either  respect.  (Hear,  hear.)  If  the  House  approved  the  decimalization  of 
weights  and  measures,  the  same  process  would  have  to  be  applied  to  the 
coinage,  and  great  expense  as  well  as  inconvenience  would  accompany  the 
recoining  of  the  currency.  On  the  whole,  the  balance  of  advantages  seemed 
to  him  to  be  on  the  side  of  leaving  things  as  they  were.  (Hear,  hear.) 
Those  who  would  gain  anything  by  the  change  would  be  those  who  could 
best  endure  the  drawbacks  of  the  existing  system.  Trade  did  not  want  it, 
science  was  independent  of  it,  and  those  who  would  suffer  most  disadvan- 
tage from  it  were  the  people  who  carried  on  the  petty  but  by  no  means 
unimportant  industry  of  the  country.  (Hear,  hear.) 

Mr.  Cobden.  There  are  two  subjects  before  us  which  have  been  rather 
inconveniently  confounded  in  the  course  of  this  discussion  —  the  question  of 
decimalization  and  the  question  of  adopting  the  metric  system.  You  may 
have  the  decimal  system  without  the  metric  system.  I  think  there  is  a 
unanimity  of  opinion  in  favor  of  the  decimal  system  in  preference  to  our 
present  mode  of  notation.  There  may  be  the  exception  of  Lord  Overstone, 
but  whenever  I  am  advocating  a  reform,  especially  one  about  which  the  com- 
mon sense  of  the  community  is  pretty  well  agreed,  I  have  made  up  my  mind 
not  to  have  the  honor  of  the  company  and  countenance  of  Lord  Overstone. 
Looking  to  the  evidence  given  before  the  committee  on  which  I  sat  last 
year,  there  is  a  weight  of  authority  in  favor  of  the  decimal  system,  on  scien- 
tific, educational,  and  commercial  grounds,  such  as  I  hardly  ever  before  saw 
equaled  in  any  committee.  There  was,  for  example,  the  evidence  of  Pro- 
fessor De  Morgan,  the  great  mathematician  and  actuary.  He  was  not  of 
opinion  that  the  metric  system  should  be  adopted,  but  he  declared  —  and  it 
is  a  fact  that  should  be  deemed  important  in  this  discussion  —  that  boys 
would  save  one-half  the  time  they  spent  in  the  study  of  arithmetic  by  follow- 
ing the  decimal  instead  of  the  present  system.  The  Rev.  Alfred  Barrett,  a 
clergyman  who  instructs  youths  for  the  artillery  service,  made  the  following 
statement  to  the  committee :  "  It  appears  to  me  that  the  work  of  education 
in  the  French  military  academy  is  much  more  forward  than  ours,  and  arises 
very  much  from  the  time  of  the  juvenile  pupils  being  lost  in  the  stupid 
system  of  arithmetic  which  we  adopt."  He  was  asked,  "  How  much  do  you 
think  the  time  spent  in  education  would  be  shortened  by  adopting  the  decimal 
system  ?  "  He  answered,  "  Two  years."  He  was  asked  if  learning  according 
to  the  decimal  system  would  be  more  agreeable,  and  his  answer  was,  "  Yes, 
I  think  so,  and  more  complete."  Dr.  Farr  produced  a  letter  from  Lord 
Brougham,  who  had  collected  the  testimony  of  schoolmasters  on  the  subject, 
and  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  one-third  of  the  time  spent  by  boys 


116 

at  school  in  learning  arithmetic  would  be  saved  by  adopting  the  decimal 
system.  My  friend  Mr.  Edwin  Chadwick  has  given  his  attention  to  a  new 
system  of  education  for  the  poorest  class  of  schools,  by  which  he  proposes, 
without  any  diminution  of  the  amount  of  their  education,  to  shorten  the 
time  for  the  instruction  of  children  to  three  hours  a  day  instead  of  six.  Mr. 
Chadwick  says  that  more  than  one  hour  out  of  three  is  wasted  by  the  poor 
children  learning  arithmetic,  in  consequence  of  the  complicated  system  which 
they  are  taught.  The  gentleman  who  just  sat  down  (Mr.  Hubbard)  has 
offered  a  most  astounding  argument  in  defense  of  his  views :  he  is  in  favor 
of  puzzling  the  children's  heads  with  the  present  system  of  arithmetic,  for  the 
purpose  of  exercising  their  brains ;  but  does  not  the  honorable  gentleman 
know  that  if  you  give  to  those  poor  children  greater  facilities  for  studying 
the  simple  rules  of  arithmetic,  they  will  be  able  to  mount  up  to  the  com- 
pound rules,  or  even  to  the  higher  regions  of  mathematics  ?  They  will  be 
stopped  soon  enough  by  the  rules  of  mathematics,  which  will  abundantly 
exercise  their  brains ;  but  let  it  be  done  for  a  useful  object,  rather  than  for 
the  mere  purpose  of  tormenting  them.  I  commend  to  the  honorable  gentle- 
man those  doggerel  lines,  written,  no  doubt,  by  some  despairing  urchin  in  a 
moment  of  distraction : 

"  Multiplication  is  vexation, 

Division  is  as  bad ; 
The  rule  of  three  it  puzzles  me, 
But  practice  drives  me  mad." 

The  question  of  education  is  mixed  up  with  the  question  before  us  in  this 
way :  You  cannot  teach  children  the  decimal  system  with  any  advantage 
unless  it  is  to  be  available  in  the  ordinary  transactions  of  the  affairs  of  life. 
My  honorable  friend  the  member  for  Staffordshire  has  been  arguing  for  a 
permissive  and  temporizing  treatment  of  this  measure.  He  pities  the  boys 
who  are  learning  the  present  system  of  arithmetic,  and  says  he  would  allow 
the  decimal  system  to  be  permissive ;  but  what  would  follow  ?  The  poor 
boys  would  learn  the  decimal  system  and  the  present  system,  and  that  would 
be  no  relief  to  them.  Now,  I  apprehend  that  what  will  come  out  of  this  dis- 
cussion is  this  :  You  must  either  adopt  the  whole  of  it,  or  not  take  a  step 
in  it  at  all.  You  must  adopt  the  system  of  decimalizing  your  coins  and  your 
weights  and  measures.  Then  comes  the  question,  What  mode  of  decimaliza- 
tion will  you  adopt?  The  right  honorable  gentleman,  the  member  for 
Oxfordshire,  says  he  is  in  favor  of  taking  a  foot  measure  for  decimalization, 
but  objects  to  the  proposed  metre  as  outlandish.  I  think  he  has  some  objec- 
tion to  the  origin  and  source  from  which  the  new  metre  is  to  come.  I  sup- 
pose the  right  honorable  gentleman  would  not  object  to  mechanics  or 
scientific  men  decimalizing  their  foot  rules  and  carrying  it  through  a  calcula- 
tion of  measurements :  but  what  is  the  use  of  decimalizing  a  foot  or  yard 
unless  you  decimalize  all  the  measures  into  which  these  merge  and  to  which 


117 

they  have  relation?  If  you  agree  to  decimalize  your  foot,  you  must 
decimalize  your  inch  and  yard  to  make  it  of  any  value;  and  if  you 
decimalize  your  pound,  you  must  decimalize  your  ounce  and  other  weights. 
If  you  adopt  the  decimalizing  system  at  all,  about  which  everybody  is 
agreed,  you  must  enter  upon  a  complicated  change  of  your  own  weights 
and  measures  that  will  be  just  as  troublesome  to  you  and  cause  as  much 
embarrassment  to  your  trade  as  if  you  adopt  the  French  system.  What 
is  the  French  system?  The  honorable  member  for  Leeds  said  that  I 
had  an  opportunity  of  forming  an  opinion  respecting  the  systems  of 
France  and  England.  I  had  that  opportunity,  and  probably  should  not 
have  taken  part  in  the  discussion  of  this  question  if  it  had  not  been  forced 
upon  my  attention.  I  was  engaged,  for  I  believe  six  months,  in  the  constant 
study  and  conversion  of  English  weights,  measures  and  prices  into  French 
weights,  measures  and  prices.  To  say  I  felt  the  disadvantage  of  our  system 
as  compared  with  that  of  France,  and  felt  mortified  and  annoyed,  would  not 
express  my  feeling  at  the  time ;  I  felt  humiliated.  The  one  is  simple,  sym- 
metrical, logical,  and  consistent;  the  other  is  dislocated,  complicated, 
uncouth  and  incoherent.  We  need  not  be  alarmed  about  the  French  system 
because  it  is  French.  The  French  system  is  not  founded  upon  anything 
peculiar  to  France.  Before  the  French  metric  system  was  adopted, 
the  French  government,  in  1790,  invited  the  English  government  to  send 
learned  fellows  of  our  royal  society  to  France  to  devise  a  system  of 
weights  and  measures  for  the  world.  We  declined  to  interfere,  and  what 
is  the  result?  Instead  of  taking  anything  peculiar  to  themselves,  the 
French  government  adopted  a  cosmopolitan  standard.  They  took  for 
their  unit  of  length,  weight  and  capacity,  a  geographical  and  mathematical 
fact,  the  ten-millionth  part  of  the  quarter  of  the  circumference  of  the  globe, 
or  a  little  more  than  an  English  yard.  There  is  nothing  in  that  to  excite  the 
jealousy  of  Englishmen.  If  we  were  asked  to  take  the  meridian  of  Paris 
for  the  calculation  of  the  longitude  in  our  navigation  tables  you  might  resent 
it,  but  in  this  case  a  cosmopolitan  standard  has  been  adopted  which  has  no 
special  reference  to  France.  You  may  adopt  the  system,  therefore,  without 
making  the  slightest  concession  to  French  ideas.  I  don't  know  that  I  could 
explain  the  advantages  of  the  system  more  clearly  than  by  quoting  a  few 
words  from  the  evidence  of  M.  Chevalier.  He  said  that  "  the  evidence  in 
favor  of  a  good  spinning  or  weaving  machine,  instead  of  an  obsolete  one, 
would  be  also  evidence  in  favor  of  the  metric  system  of  calculation."  If  it 
were  discovered  by  a  traveler  in  France  that  the  ploughs  or  scythes  used  by 
our  agriculturists  were  inferior  to  those  used  in  that  country,  we  should 
instantly  change  the  form  of  those  agricultural  instruments,  and  adopt  the 
model  from  abroad.  But  here  is  a  tool  that  is  not  merely  used  by  our  agricul- 
tural laborers  in  cultivating  the  land ;  in  every  family  in  the  United  Kingdom 
it  is  in  daily  use ;  it  offers  facilities  for  saving  one-half  the  time  in  arithmetical 


118 

education,  and  one-third  or  one-fourth  of  the  time  spent  in  all  the  transactions 
in  which  you  are  to  make  use  of  this  tool ;  and  yet  there  is  a  difficulty  set 
up  in  adopting  it.  Its  adoption  is  resisted  by  the  v is  inertice  of  the  country. 
It  is  recommended  by  all  the  highest  authorities  amongst  those  who  have  had 
occasion  to  use  it.  It  is  recommended  by  Sir  Rowland  Hill,  because  it  is 
most  desirable  for  the  arrangement  of  his  postage.  It  has  been  recommended 
by  Dr.  Fair,  the  head  of  the  statistical  department  of  the  register  of  deaths, 
births  and  marriages.  It  is  recommended  by  Mr.  Anderson,  the  head  of 
your  gun  factory  at  Woolwich,  and  by  Mr.  Graham,  the  master  of  the  mint. 
It  is  stated  that  Mr.  Whitworth  finds  the  decimal  system  necessary  for  minute 
computation  and  admeasurement.  The  metric  system  has  been  petitioned 
for  by  the  Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce.  All  the  bodies  and  classes 
most  likely  to  be  served  by  using  this  instrument  have  petitioned  to  be 
allowed  to  use  it ;  and  are  we  to  meet  them  with  the  argument  that  the  old 
system  answers  very  well  —  we  will  go  on  in  the  ancient  way  —  we  object 
to  take  anything  from  the  French  ?  Are  the  whole  interests  of  the  country 
to  stand  still  on  that  account  ?  If  we  were  satisfied  with  things  as  they  are, 
I  could  understand  why  we  should  be  indifferent  to  a  change ;  but  what 
places  us  completely  in  the  wrong  is  that  we  are  all  agreed  that  our  present 
system  of  weights  and  measures  is  unsatisfactory.  I  have  been  asked 
whether  the  French  people  have  universally  adopted  the  metric  system,  and 
I  say  no.  They  have,  in  remote  country  districts,  persons  who  still  estimate 
the  extent  of  their  land  by  the  old  measurement ;  but  there  is  this  difference 
between  France  and  England.  The  French  have  no  idea  of  abandoning  their 
new  system,  which  is  being  rapidly  adopted  by  the  other  nations  of  the 
continent,  and  only  waits  our  adoption  to  become  the  system  of  the  civilized 
world ;  all  they  want  is  time  to  make  those  poor  people  who  adhere  to  the 
old  method  better  acquainted  with  the  new  one,  whereas,  though  we  are  dis- 
satisfied with  our  system,  we  are  still  looking  about  for  the  means  of  remedy- 
ing it.  Our  weights  and  measures  are  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  JVIagna 
Charta,  and  to  be  founded  upon  a  declaration  of  the  Barons  at  Runnymede, 
more  than  six  hundred  years  ago,  who  said  there  should  be  only  one  standard 
in  England ;  but  we  have  actually  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  measures, 
which,  though  illegal,  are  constantly  being  used  in  defiance  of  the  law.  We 
have  also  penalties  to  compel  the  use  of  legal  weights  and  measures,  but  they 
are  not  inflicted.  What  is  the  reason  why  we  have  never  had  one  uniform 
system  of  weights  and  measures  ?  It  is  that  we  have  never  presented  to  the 
public  a  motive  for  uniformity.  We  have  passed  a  law  that  the  Winchester 
bushel  should  be  abolished  and  the  imperial  bushel  used  in  its  stead,  but  the 
imperial  bushel  offered  no  more  facilities  in  measurement  and  calculations 
than  the  Winchester  bushel.  So  in  other  cases.  But  the  distinctive  merit 
of  the  present  proposal  is  that  it  promises  a  great  economy  of  time  and 
labor  in  the  adoption  of  the  decimal  and  metric  system.  Above  all,  it 


119 

appeals  to  the  youth  of  the  country,  which  I  consider  a  point  of  vast  impor- 
tance. It  has  been  said  that  there  can  be  no  immortality  for  authors  unless 
their  books  are  read  by  the  young.  So  it  might  be  said  in  this  case,  that 
the  greatest  hope  of  success  from  the  adoption  of  the  decimal  and  metric 
system  is  founded  upon  the  appeal  made  to  the  sympathy  and  interest  of 
every  young  person  in  the  country.  The  logical  sequence  with  which  the 
decimals  in  the  French  metric  system  follow  one  another  afford  satisfac- 
tion to  the  reasoning  faculties ;  it  gives  a  constant  triumph  to  the  reason ; 
but  we  have  nothing  of  the  sort  in  our  illogical,  inconsistent  and  dislocated 
system.  I  might  compare  the  distinction  between  the  two  systems  to  the 
difference  between  mining  in  a  country  full  of  "  faults,"  and  mining  in  a 
district  where  there  is  one  continuous  vein.  The  French  are  generally  con- 
sidered a  more  logical  people  than  the  English.  I  believe  they  are  so,  and  I 
am  sometimes  disposed  to  attribute  the  fact  to  their  having  this  decimal 
system  of  calculation.  I  admit  that  we  should  have  considerable  difficulty 
in  the  transition,  but  think  that  those  difficulties  might  be  successfully 
encountered  by  the  board  of  trade,  under  the  guidance  of  my  right  honor- 
able friend  the  member  for  Ashton,  who  has  a  mind  peculiarly  suited  for 
dealing  with  such  a  question.  At  the  very  outset  the  board  of  trade  would 
have  to  prepare  and  issue  a  table  of  equivalents  in  order  that  the  people 
might  know  by  comparison  with  the  past  what  they  .were  buying.  Such  a 
table  could  be  produced  with  the  greatest  ease,  and  in  a  very  short  time 
there  would  be  no  occasion  for  its  use  at  all.  It  was  in  evidence  that  an 
English  workman  going  to  Paris  mastered  the  French  system  in  a  month, 
and  one  witness  has  stated  that  a  man  of  superior  intelligence  might  master 
it  in  two  days.  Now  that  our  old  disputes  as  to  financial  and  commercial 
questions  are  disposed  of,  I  think  the  president  of  the  board  of  trade  could 
not  do  better  than  take  this  matter  in  hand.  Lord  Chesterfield  endured  in 
history  as  a  great  name  very  much  from  having  been  the  means  of  introduc- 
ing the  Gregorian  Calendar.  I  trust  that  the  president  of  the  board  of  trade 
in  addition  to  his  successful  labors  in  the  cause  of  free  trade  in  corn  and  free 
trade  in  newspapers,  will  do  his  utmost  to  obtain  what  certain  boys  who 
threatened  to  petition  the  House  have  called  free  trade  in  arithmetic. 

Mr.  Ferrand  remarked  that  a  small  shopkeeper,  with  a  capital  of  £50,  had 
probably  spent  £3,  £4,  or  £5,  in  the  purchase  of  weights  and  measures.  It 
was  now  proposed  to  sweep  away  the  whole  of  that  property.  He  submitted 
that  if  the  bill  was  to  be  compulsory  it  ought  to  be  compensatory  also. 
(Hear,  hear.)  The  honorable  gentleman,  amid  cries  of  "  question,"  called 
attention  to  the  large  sums  demanded  from  hawkers  for  licenses,  and  com- 
mended the  subject  to  the  attention  of  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer. 

Mr.  M.  Gibson  confessed  that  he  did  not  feel  very  sanguine  of  being  able 
to  induce  the  people  of  this  country  to  conform,  without  great  resistance,  to 
any  considerable  change  in  their  weights  and  measures.  (Hear,  hear.)  Such 


120 

alterations,  if  desirable,  could,  of  course,  be  effected,  but  they  ought  to  be 
introduced  in  a  cautious  manner  and  by  successive  steps,  so  as  to  cause  as 
small  an  amount  of  loss  and  inconvenience  as  possible.  He  had  not  a  word 
to  say  against  the  decimal  and  metric  system  of  France ;  on  the  contrary, 
he  thought  it  convenient,  neat  and  beneficial ;  but  the  question  was,  whether 
the  House  would  give  its  assent  to  a  compulsory  measure  which  enacted 
that,  from  and  after  a  certain  time  named  in  the  clauses,  every  person  in  the 
United  Kingdom  who  did  not  use  in  transactions  of  trade,  whether  of  an 
extensive  or  whether  of  a  petty  character,  the  metric  system,  should  be  liable 
to  a  penalty  of  forty  shillings.  (Hear,  hear.)  Now,  his  opinion  was,  that, 
in  such  a  case  as  this,  we  must  endeavor  to  fit  matters  a  little  to  society,  and 
must  not  expect  that  society  would  all  at  once  adapt  itself  to  new  legislation 
unless  some  public  conviction  existed  in  its  favor,  and  unless  the  minds  of  the 
people  were  prepared  to  co-operate  with  the  law.  That  was  the  opinion  of 
the  select  committee,  which,  while  recommending  that  the  metric  system 
should  be  rendered  legal,  declared  that  no  compulsory  measures  should  be 
resorted  to  unless  they  were  sanctioned  by  the  general  conviction  of  the 
public.  (Hear.)  What  evidence  had  we  that  such  a  change  as  that  proposed 
by  the  honorable  member  for  Rochdale  was  sanctioned  by  a  general  convic- 
tion of  the  public  ?  None  whatever.  Many  steps  ought  to  be  taken  before 
we  ventured  upon  compulsory  legislation,  which,  if  attempted  prematurely, 
must  have  the  effect  of  throwing  back  the  change  that  many  desired  to  see 
accomplished.  Such  has  been  the  case  in  France,  where  fifty  years  expired 
after  the  premature  decree  of  the  national  assembly  before  the  metric  and 
decimal  system  was  brought  into  general  operation  in  the  time  of  Louis 
Philippe.  There  could  be  no  doubt  of  the  advantage  of  the  decimal  system 
in  all  matters  of  accounts,  but  he  contended  that  we  could  not  make  that 
system  the  only  mode  of  division  which  persons  should  be  compelled  to  use 
under  a  penalty.  He  had  no  objection  to  any  bill,  if  such  should  be  thought 
necessary,  which  should  legalize  and  license  the  use  of  the  decimal  division ; 
but  he  should  be  sorry  to  see  any  measure  passed  to  confine  men  exclusively 
to  that  system,  and  prevent  them  from  having  recourse,  if  their  convenience 
required  it,  to  the  binary  system  now  in  ordinary  and  daily  use.  Uniformity 
in  weights  and  measures  they  would  all  agree,  was  most  desirable ;  but  what 
was  their  experience  of  previous  attempts  to  enforce  it?  We  had  now 
established  by  law  two  simple  and  primary  units,  the  standard  yard  for 
length  and  the  avoirdupois  pound  for  weight ;  and  from  these  all  our  other 
legal  weights  and  measures  were  derived.  The  5th  and  6th  of  William  IV, 
cap.  63,  enacted  that  any  person  using  any  weight  or  measure  other  than 
those  authorized  by  that  act  should  be  subject  to  a  penalty  not  exceeding 
£5,  and  also  that  all  contracts  made  in  other  measures  or  weights  should  be 
null  and  void.  Yet  there  was,  no  doubt,  at  present  a  great  number  of  local 
and  customary  measures  and  weights  in  use  in  this  country,  in  Wales,  and 


121 

in  Scotland,  contrary  to  that  statute,  although  common  informers  had  power 
to  sue  for  the  penalty  which  it  imposed.  Why,  then,  was  the  law  not  en- 
forced ?  He  could  not  give  any  other  reason  than  that  it  was  found  an 
extremely  difficult  thing  to  enforce,  in  any  brief  space  of  time,  any  great 
change  in  weights  and  measures  throughout  the  country,  and  that  in  many 
districts  public  opinion  would  not  sanction  the  prosecution  of  persons  for 
adhering  to  usages  with  which  they  had  been  accustomed  to  conduct  their 
business  with  convenience  and  safety.  In  the  metropolis  and  other  large 
towns  no  infractions  of  this  law,  perhaps,  took  place,  and  the  introduction 
of  railways  and  other  changes  had  a  tendency  to  lead  to  the  voluntary  adop- 
tion of  uniformity  in  weights  and  measures  on  account  of  its  superior  conve- 
nience. It  was  better,  therefore,  to  trust  to  the  gradual  appreciation  of  the 
advantages  of  an  improved  system,  than  to  seek,  by  the  rough  and  compul- 
sory expedient  of  legal  penalties,  to  bring  about  a  change  all  at  once.  He 
agreed  with  the  honorable  member  for  Rochdale  that  it  was  the  duty  of  all 
who  approved  the  decimal  and  metric  system  to  do  what  in  them  lay  to 
prepare  the  public  mind  for  receiving  it.  But  he  was  convinced  that,  al- 
though those  persons,  comparatively  few  in  number,  who  were  engaged  in 
the  foreign  trade,  and  whose  transactions  were  generally  on  an  extensive 
scale,  might  be  favorable  to  this  change,  yet,  from  the  innumerable  petty 
traders  and  shopkeepers  scattered  throughout  the  country,  any  sudden  at- 
tempt to  make  it  compulsory  would  meet  with  a  general  resistance.  He 
could  not,  therefore,  assent  to  a  compulsory  enactment,  nor  could  he  see  his 
way,  if  passed,  to  its  practical  enforcement.  On  such  a  subject  they  must 
proceed  by  single  steps ;  and  if  the  honorable  member  for  Dumfries  would 
withdraw  this  bill,  and  introduce  another  of  a  merely  permissive  character, 
that  might  by  degrees  familiarize  the  public  mind  to  the  idea  of  the  proposed 
change,  and  pave  the  way  for  further  advances  in  the  same  direction  here- 
after. Although  himself  in  favor  of  the  theory  of  the  metric  system,  all  the 
scientific  witnesses  examined  before  the  committee  did  not  support  it.  Pro- 
fessor De  Morgan,  while  strongly  advocating  the  decimal  system  for  account 
keeping,  regarded  the  metre  as  not  a  good  unit  of  length.  Professor  Aircy 
also  thought  that  uniformity  and  harmony  with  the  system  of  foreign 
countries  might  be  purchased  at  too  high  a  price.  Still,  of  the  practical 
difficulties  of  introducing  into  trade  a  new  system,  the  scientific  men  were 
not  such  good  judges  as  the  chambers  of  commerce.  But  it  would  not  be 
fair  to  let  the  House  suppose  that  there  had  been  unanimity  among  the 
philosophers,  and  even  at  the  present  moment  several  of  them  inclined  to 
the  opinion  that  it  was  not  desirable  to  adopt  the  metre  as  our  unit.  With 
regard  to  a  question  which  had  been  put  to  him  as  to  the  testing  of  the 
standards,  the  act  provided  that  the  local  standards  should  be  compared  with 
the  standards  in  London,  but  it  contained  no  provision  for  the  periodical 
verification  of  the  working  standards  in  London  by  comparison  with  the 
16 


122 

primary  standards  kept  in  a  stone  box,  which  were  the  units  and  constants 
upon  which  all  our  weights  and  measures  were  by  law  to  depend.  He  pre- 
sumed, however,  that  the  authority  of  the  government  would  be  sufficient 
to  warrant  that  comparison  being  made ;  and,  as  the  matter  was  one  of  great 
importance,  it  would  not  fail  to  receive  the  attention  it  deserved.  The 
International  Statistical  Congress,  which  sat  in  London  two  years  ago, 
appointed  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  best  means  of  overcoming  the 
obstacles  which  prevented  the  adoption  of  the  metric  system  in  various 
countries.  He  would  suggest,  therefore,  that  it  would  be  well  for  the 
honorable  member  for  Dumfries  to  wait  till  that  committee  had  presented 
its  report  to  the  next  meeting  of  the  congress  before  seeking  to  legislate  on 
this  subject.  He  saw  that  Portugal,  after  ten  years  of  hard  preparatory 
work,  had  just  arrived  at  the  stage  for  compulsorily  introducing  the  metric 
system.  He  was  quite  willing  to  help  individually  as  a  pioneer  in  paving 
the  way  for  the  adoption  of  that  change  in  this  country,  but  he  believed 
that  if  he  were  to  attempt,  by  a  sort  of  surprise,  to  compel  people  by  law  in 
all  parts  of  the  country  to  throw  away  their  present  weights  and  measures, 
and  to  provide  themselves  with  new  ones  based  on  wholly  novel  principles, 
he  would  require  the  assistance  of  a  body  of  police  of  no  ordinary  magni- 
tude. 

Mr.  Bazley  thought  the  president  of  the  board  of  trade,  in  his  very  plausi- 
ble speech,  had  conjured  up  imaginary  difficulties.  In  the  departments  of 
the  customs  and  excise  the  decimal  system  was  already  largely  used ;  and 
where  would  be  the  difficulty  of  applying  the  same  principle  to  the  trans- 
actions of  the  general  public  ?  Many  of  the  working  men  of  Lancashire 
were  now  in  the  habit  of  computing  upon  the  decimal  system  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  ordinary  duty.  (Hear,  hear.)  He  should  support  the  bill 
because  it  would  materially  economize  time  and  promote  the  wealth  of  the 
country. 

Mr.  Roebuck  said  the  right  honorable  gentleman  had  recommended  the 
honorable  member  for  Dumfries  to  withdraw  the  bill  and  bring  in  another 
of  a  permissive  nature.  He  would  suggest  that  the  House  should  agree  to 
the  second  reading  before  the  bill  was  withdrawn  (hear,  hear),  because  by 
that  course  they  would  at  least  have  affirmed  its  principle. 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  said  that  unhappily  compulsion  was  a 
vital  portion  of  the  measure,  and  could  not  be  separated  from  its  principle. 
(Hear,  hear.)  To  compulsion  in  this  matter  the  government  was  not  pre- 
pared to  accede,  and  they  would  be  only  deluding  the  House  if  they  for  a 
moment  assented  to  the  second  reading  of  a  measure  involving  compulsion 
as  a  means  of  giving  effect  to  the  decimal  system. 

Mr.  R.  Hodgson  said  that  the  compulsory  power  was  not  the  principle  of 
the  bill,  but  only  the  means  by  which  it  was  to  be  carried  out.  The  honor- 
able member  for  Dumfries  should  state,  before  they  divided  on  the  second 


123 

reading,  whether  he  would  agree  to  change  the  compulsory  provision  into  a 
permissive  one,  and  in  that  case,  after  the  second  reading,  the  bill  might  be 
committed,  pro  formd,  and  altered  and  printed,  and  circulated  for  con- 
sideration by  the  country  during  the  recess. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Smith  said  that  he  was  of  opinion,  with  the  honorable  member 
for  Tynemouth,  that  the  bill  should  be  read  a  second  time,  because  the 
principle  of  the  bill  was  the  adoption  of  the  metric  system  of  weights  and 
measures.  Whether  its  adoption  was  to  be  enforced  or  permissive  was  a 
matter  of  detail,  and  might  be  dealt  with  in  committee  on  the  bill.  The 
president  of  the  board  of  trade  had  observed  that  the  philosophers  were  not 
agreed  on  the  metric  system.  It  was  true  that  there  were  two  philosophers 
examined  before  the  committee  on  weights  and  measures,  who  were  opposed 
to  the  metric  system.  One  was  in  favor  of  the  decimalization  of  our  exist- 
ing weights  and  measures ;  the  other,  the  astronomer  royal,  was  opposed  to 
any  change  at  all.  Now,  he  knew  that  the  House  had  great  respect  for  the 
opinions  of  philosophers ;  he  was,  therefore,  desirous  of  reading  the  evidence 
of  the  astronomer  royal  before  the  committee,  from  which  they  would  be 
able  to  judge  of  the  practical  value  of  his  opinions  on  this  subject.  This 
learned  gentleman  was  asked,  "  In  the  case  of  a  railway  company  having 
hundreds  of  charges  to  make  every  day  for  the  carriage  of  goods,  which 
may  be  of  every  conceivable  weight  from  a  pound  up  to  100  tons,  in  such  a 
case  having  cwts.  and  Ibs.  as  part  of  the  weight,  do  you  suppose,  that  any 
table  could  be  devised  thac  would  aid  their  calculations?"  Answer.  "I 
never  had  to  send  goods  by  railway,  and  therefore  I  cannot  say."  Question. 
"  Then  I  tell  you  that  they  charge  tons,  cwts.  and  Ibs.  Do  you  not  think 
that  in  France,  where  a  railway  has  1,000  kilogrammes  for  transmission,  they 
would  find  their  calculations  greatly  facilitated  by  dividing  the  1,000  kilo- 
grammes by  10  ?  "  Answer.  "  Yes."  Question.  "  Is  not  a  large  amount  of 
the  business  of  the  country  the  railway  carriage  of  the  country  ?  "  Answer. 
"  No ;  it  is  a  good  deal,  but  it  depends — that  is,  the  convenience  or  incon- 
venience depends — entirely  on  the  extent  to  which  large  measures  or  weights, 
and  small  ones,  are  used  at  the  same  time."  Question.  "  Of  course  it 
does."  Answer.  "  Generally  speaking,  in  all  business  I  have  any  acquaint- 
ance with,  they  are  not  used  much  together."  Question.  "  You  do  not 
dispute  that  the  railway  companies  charge  the  weight  by  the  ton,  cwt.,  qrs., 
and  Ibs.  ?  "  Answer.  "  I  do  not  know  how  far  they  go,  but  I  should  think 
they  would  not  go  below  the  quarters.  It  would  depend  entirely  upon  the 
extent  to  which  the  small  weights  are  combined  with  the  large  weights." 
Question.  "Assuming  that  the  railway  companies  charge  below  the 
quarters,  then  do  you  think  the  adoption  of  the  decimal  system  would  be  an 
economy  of  time  ?  "  Answer.  "  Yes ;  but  it  scarcely  would  if  they  do  not 
go  below  the  quarters."  No  doubt  the  opinions  of  so  distinguished  a 
philosopher  as  the  astronomer  royal  on  questions  connected  with  his  own 


124 

pursuits  is  entitled  to  great  deference;  but  so  much  of  his  life  is  spent 
among  the  stars  that  he  appears  to  have  little  practical  acquaintance  with 
what  is  passing  in  the  world  below.  There  was,  however,  another  philoso- 
pher examined  before  the  committee,  Professor  Miller  of  Cambridge,  no  less 
distinguished  than  the  others,  but  possessing  the  advantage  over  them  of  a 
practical  acquaintance  with  the  subject  of  weights  and  measures.  Professor 
Miller  was  one  of  the  members  of  the  committee  for  the  restoration  of  the 
lost  standard,  and  to  him  was  intrusted  the  restoration  of  the  standard  of 
weight.  He  is  of  opinion  that  the  metric  system  should  be  adopted  in  the 
place  of  our  present  system  of  weights  and  measures,  because  it  is  a  perfect 
system,  and  because  it  is  now  adopted  by  a  very  large  portion  of  the  world. 
He  was  asked  by  the  honorable  member  for  Staffordshire,  "  Do  you  find  in 
the  course  of  your  learned  pursuits  that  our  present  system  of  weights  and 
measures  interfere  with  scientific  investigation  in  any  way  ?  "  He  answered, 
"  Not  in  the  least ;  they  are  so  complicated  it  is  quite  impossible  to  use 
them.  The  balance  makers  provide  balances  made  for  accurate  purposes 
with  decimal  weights  of  some  kind."  It  appears,  then,  that  scientific  men 
cannot  use  our  present  system  of  weights  and  measures ;  the  astronomer 
royal  himself  never  uses  them  in  his  calculations;  there  has  been  no  reason 
urged  why  the  public  should  be  condemned  to  use  them  except  that  any 
change  would  be  attended  with  temporary  inconvenience,  and  would  be 
especially  distasteful  to  old  women.  He  (Mr.  Smith)  did  not  believe  that 
the  English  people  were  less  intelligent  than  the  Dutch,  Swiss,  Spanish,  or 
those  of  any  other  country  which  had  adopted  the  metric  system  with  so 
much  public  advantage,  and  he  therefore  hoped  the  House  would  allow  the 
bill  to  be  read  a  second  time. 

Mr.  Griffith  was  ready  to  support  that  part  of  the  measure  relating  to 
decimal  computation,  but  was  unwilling  to  pledge  himself  to  the  adoption 
of  the  metric  standard. 

Colonel  Sykes  said,  as  a  member  of  the  committee  on  weights  and  mea- 
sures, and  concurring  entirely  in  the  recommendations  of  the  committee,  he 
mio-ht  not  have  risen  after  the  conclusive  statements  that  had  been  made ; 

O 

but  some  observations  of  the  right  honorable  member  for  Oxfordshire  needed 
remark.  The  right  honorable  gentleman  said  that  the  metric  system  in 
France  had  originated  in  the  revolution,  when  there  was  a  mania  to  abolish 
every  previous  institution,  and  its  adoption  had  been  abrogated  by  Napoleon 
the  First.  The  fact  was,  that,  as  early  as  the  8th  of  May,  1790,  a  commis- 
sion of  the  Academy  of  France  was  ordered  by  the  constituent  assembly, 
upon  which  sat  academicians  and  mathematicians  whose  names  have  taken  a 
place  forever  in  science.  The  commission  at  first  thought  of  adopting  the 
length  of  a  pendulum  vibrating  seconds  in  the  meridian  of  Paris  as  the  basis 
or  standard ;  but  as  gravity  is  not  uniform  throughout  the  globe,  the  plan 
was  given  up,  and  an  immutable  standard  of  the  ten-millionth  part  of  the 


125 

quarter  of  a  meridian  was  adopted.  On  the  26th  March,  1701,  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  commission  of  the  academy  was  sanctioned ;  but  it  was 
not  until  the  1st  August,  1793,  that  the  new  system,  with  its  decimal  nota- 
tion, became  law,  and  it  was  slightly  altered  in  1795.  It  continued  in  ope- 
ration until  1801,  when  some  relaxation  took  place  owing  to  Napoleon's 
opposition  to  the  system;  and  in  1812,  when  Emperor,  he  let  the  people 
substitute  the  old  terms ;  but  under  Louis  Philippe  it  was  found  that  such 
confusion  had  ensued,  that  the  Chambers  restored  the  metric  system,  which 
has  continued  in  operation  ever  since.  The  argument  of  the  right  honorable 
gentleman,  therefore,  told  against  himself,  for  so  far  from  the  metric  system 
being  abandoned  because  it  would  not  work,  it  was  in  fact  restored  because 
of  the  confusion  consequent  on  its  abandonment.  The  right  honorable  gen- 
tleman said,  also,  that  the  majority  of  the  European  nations  had  not  adopted 
the  metric  system,  but  this  was  not  the  fact ;  Russia,  European  Turkey  and 
Wallachia,  were  the  only  European  countries  where  there  had  not  been  a 
movement  in  its  favor.  The  three  Scandinavian  nations,  Sweden,  Norway 
and  Denmark,  had  recently  passed  resolutions  in  its  favor,  and  even  in  Rus- 
sia the  thin  end  of  the  wedge  was  being  inserted.  Surely,  therefore,  his 
right  honorable  friend  would  not  wish  to  have  England  left  in  the  same  cate- 
gory with  Turkey  and  Wallachia.  England  had  a  great  commercial  inte- 
rest in  the  metric  question ;  for  the  value  of  her  trade  annually  in  those 
countries  where  the  metric  system  prevailed  was  fifty-five  millions  sterling, 
while  in  those  countries  in  which  the  metric  system  did  not  exist  the  value  of 
the  trade  was  only  twenty-four  millions  per  annum.  A  practical  illustration 
of  the  economy  of  time  and  figures,  by  the  use  of  decimals  in  arithmetical 
calculations,  had  not  been  given  by  the  speakers  who  had  'preceded  him,  and 
he  would  offer  one  from  a  paper  he  had  in  his  hand.  It  was  the  determina- 
tion of  the  value  of  5,760  yards  of  calico  at  3JJ.  per  yard,  by  compound 
multiplication,  by  the  rule  of  three,  by  practice,  and  by  the  aid  of  a  decimal 
table ;  the  answer,  of  course,  was  the  same,  viz.,  £93,  by  each  mode ;  but 
compound  multiplication  required  43  figures ;  the  rule  of  three,  44  figures  ; 
practice,  33  figures;  and  by  the  aid  of  the  decimal  table  only  14  figures 
were  required.  This  was  conclusive.  Great  stress  had  been  laid  upon  the 
difficulties  attending  the  introduction  of  the  metric  system,  particularly  in 
respect  to  the  prejudices  against  the  Gra3co-Latin  terms  to  be  used.  But 
these  terms  might  be  dispensed  with,  and  our  own  old  and  familiar  mono- 
syllabic "  ton,"  "  pound,"  "  ounce,"  "  quart,"  "  pint,"  <fcc.,  be  retained,  the 
present  quantities  of  each  designation  only  being  altered,  to  make  them  cor- 
respond with  the  terms  and  quantities  in  the  metric  system.  The  objections 
to  the  bill  on  account  of  its  penal  clauses  have  no  force,  for  every  "  weights 
and  measures  bill "  already  passed  has  its  penal  clauses,  which  are  constantly 
put  into  operation.  Moreover,  with  respect  to  all  the  difficulties  alleged, 
every  nation  which  has  adopted  the  metric  system  equally  experienced  them, 


126 

and  it  cannot  be  believed  that  England  would  fail  to  do  what  other  countries 
had  succeeded  in  doing.  He  would,  therefore,  heartily  vote  for  the  second 
reading  of  the  bill. 

Mr.  W.  Ewart,  in  reply,  said  he  was  willing  to  accept  the  government 
proposition  if  they  would  undertake  to  use  their  endeavors  to  prepare  the 
country  for  the  change  by  introducing  the  metric  system  into  schools,  and 
in  any  other  manner  that  might  be  open  to  them. 

Mr..  Gibson  said  he  could  not,  off-hand,  pledge  the  government  to  any  par- 
ticular course,  nor  could  he  speak  for  the  committee  of  privy  council. 

The  Solicitor-General  pointed  out  that  the  bill  was  essentially  a  compulsory 
measure,  for  it  spoke  throughout  of  the  unity  of  weight  and  of  capacity,  and 
did  not  say  that  persons  might  use  that  unity  or  not  as  they  pleased. 

The  House  then  divided,  when  the  numbers  were : 

For  the  second  reading, 110 

Against, 75 

Majority, 35 


WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES  (METRIC  SYSTEM)  BILL. 

Order  for  second  reading  read.  Motion  made  and  question  put,  "  That 
the  bill  be  now  read  a  second  time."  The  house  divided — yeas,  110;  nays,  75. 

Teas. — William  Patrick  Adam,  Right  Hon.  Charles  Bowyer  Adderley,  Sir 
Andrew  Agnew,  Edward  Baines,  Thomas  Barnes,  Thomas  Bazley,  John 
Blake,  Lord  John  Thomas  Browne  (Mayo),  Walter  Buchanan,  General 
Buckley,  James  Wentworth  Buller  (Devon,  !N~.),  James  Caird,  Stephen 
Cave,  Lord  Alfred  Spencer  Churchill,  James  Clay,  Colonel  Clifford  (Here- 
ford), William  Coningham,  Right  Hon.  Henry  Lowry  Corry,  Robert  Dalg- 
lish,  Colonel  Ferguson  Davie  (Barnstaple),  C.  George  Du  Pre,  Sir  James 
Buller  East,  Colonel  Edwards,  Sir  James  Dalrymple  Elphinstone,  Viscount 
Enfield,  Joseph  Christopher  Ewart  (Liverpool),  Humphry  Ewing  Crum 
Ewing,  Colonel  John  William  Fane,  Sir  Minto  Farquhar,  Henry  Fenwick, 
Alexander  Struthers  Finlay,  Hon.  C.  W.  W.  Fitzwilliam,  Henry  W.  Foley, 
William  Edward  Forster  (Bradford),  Richard  Sommers  Gard,  John  Ralph 
Ormsby  Gore  (Salop,  N".),  George  Joachim  Goschen,  Hon.  F.  Leverson 
Gower  (Bodmin),  Henry  R.  Grenfell  (Stoke),  Colonel  Fulke  Greville,  Sam- 
uel Gurney  (Penryn),  George  Hadfield,  Thomson  Hankey,  Michael  Hassard, 
Sir  John  Charles  Dalrymple  Hay,  John  Pope  Hennessy,  Lord  Alfred  Her- 
vey,  John  Tomlinson  Hibberd,  Grosvenor  Hodgkinson,  Richard  Hodgson 
(Tynemouth),  Edward  Holland,  Sir  Alexander  Acland  Hood,  Thomas  Berry 
Horsfall,  Viscount  Ingestre,  William  Jackson,  Sir  Jervoise  Clarke  Jervoise, 
Right  Hon.  Sir  W.  J.  H.  Jolliffe  (Petersfield),  James  King  King  (Hertford- 
shire), John  Laird  (Birkenhead),  Edward  A.  Leatham,  Anthony  Lefroy, 


127 

Harvey  Lewis,  Hon.  Henry  George  Liddell,  William  Schaw  Lindsay 
(Sunderland),  John  Locke,  George  Lyall,  William  Alexander  Mackinnon 
(Lymington),  John  Francis  Maguire,  Lord  George  J.  Manners  (Camb.  Co.), 
Phil.  Wykeham  Martin  (Rochester),  William  Nathaniel  Massey,  Humphrey 
Francis  Mildmay,  Walter  Morrison,  William  Nichol,  Sir  John  Ogilvy,  Rich- 
ard Padmore,  Charles  Paget  (Nottingham),  Right  Hon.  Sir  John  Pakington, 
Colonel  Wilson  Patten,  John  Pender,  Hon.  Colonel  Pennant,  James  Pilking- 
ton,  William  Pollard-Urquhart,  Hon.  Ashley  Ponsonby,  Edmund  Potter, 
David  Pugh,  C.  W.  Giles  Puller,  Sir  John  William  Ramsden,  Viscount 
Raynham,  George  William  John  Repton,  John  Arthur  Roebuck,  William 
Scholefield,  Charles  Seeley,  Henry  B.  Sheridan  (Dudley),  John  Benjamin 
Smith  (Stockport),  Abel  Smith  (Herts),  Joseph  Somes,  John  Steel,  Hon. 
Gerard  Sturt  (Dorset),  Colonel  William  Henry  Sykes,  Colonel  Taylor  (Dub- 
lin Co.),  William  Tite,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Charles  George  Tottenham,  Sir 
John  Salusbury  Trelawny,  Edward  Warner,  Colonel  Lloyd  Watkins, 
Thomas  Matthias  Weguelin,  George  Hammond  Whalley,  Henry  Whitmore, 
William  Williams  (Lambeth). 

Tellers  of  the  yeas,  Mr.  William  Ewart  and  Mr.  Cobden. 

Nays. — Hon.  William  Wells  Addington^  Hon.  General  Arbuthnott,  Sir 
William  Atherton,  Acton  Smee  Ayrton,  Henry  S.  Baillie  (Invernesshire), 
George  W.  P.  Bentinck  (Norfolk  West),  G.  Cavendish  Bentinck  (Taunton), 
Peter  Blackburn,  John  Bonham  Carter,  James  Brown  (Malton),  Henry 
Austin  Bruce  (Merthyr  Tydvil),  Hugh  Culling  Eardley  Childers,  Sir  Mon- 
tague John  Cholmeley,  Right  Hon.  William  F.  Cowper,  William  Cox,  Sir 
H.  R.  Ferguson  Davie  (Haddington shire),  Mount  Elph,  Grant  Duif  (Elgin), 
Right  Hon.  Sir  D.  Dundas  (Sutherland),  Sir  Philip  Grey  Egerton  (Cheshire 
S.),  Sir  De  Lacy  Evans  (Westminster),  James  Farrer,  Edward  Fellowes, 
William  Orme  Foster  (Staffordshire  S.),  Viscount  Gal  way,  Major  Gavin, 
Right  Hon.  Thomas  Milner  Gibson,  Charles  Gilpin  (Northampton),  Right 
Hon.  William  Gladstone,  Samuel  Gregson,  Christopher  Darby  Griffith, 
Right  Hon.  Joseph  Warner  Henley,  Lord  Henley,  Right  Hon.  Henry  A. 
Herbert,  Viscount  Holmesdale,  Lord  Hotham,  John  Gillibrand  Hubbard, 
Philip  Stapleton  Humberston,  Right  Hon.  William  Hutt,  Sir  John  Johnstone 
(Scarboro),  Samuel  Trehawke  Kekewich,  W.  Francis  Knatchbull  (Somerset 
E.),  HugessenE.  Knatchbull  (Sandwich),  Austin  Henry  Layard  (South wavk), 
Dudley  Coutts  Marjoribanks,  Arthur  Mills  (Taunton),  William  Townley  Mit- 
ford,  Right  Hon.  James  Moncrieff,  David  Morris,  Right  Hon.  John  Robert 
Mowbray,  William  Murray,  Colonel  North  (Oxfordshire),  Lord  Clarence 
Paget  (Sandwich),  Sir  Roundell  Palmer  (Richmond),  Major  Windsor  Parker, 
Right  Hon.  Frederick  Peel  (Bury),  Sir  Matthew  White  Ridley,  Thomas 
James  Agar  Robartes,  Hon.  Richard  Thomas  Rowley,  Arthur  Russell 
(Tavistock),  Mr.  Alderman  Salomons,  Sir  John  Villiers  Shelley,  Augustus 


128 

Smith  (Truro),  Patrick  Boyle  Smollett,  James  Stansfield,  Michael  Sullivan, 
John  Tollemache  (Cheshire  S.),  Lord  Arthur  Edwin  Hill  Trevor,  Charles 
Turner  (Lancashire  S.,)  Colonel  Vandeleur,  Harry  Foley  Vernon,  Right 
Hon.  C.  Pelham  Villiers,  Admiral  Wallcott,  John  Walter,  Luke  White 
(Kidderminster),  Charles  Watkin  Wynn  (Montgomeryshire.) 

Tellers  for  the  nays,  Mr.  Brand  and  Sir  William  Dunbar. 


NOTE. 

By  the  published  proceedings  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
recently  received,  it  appears  that  the  bill  thus  ordered  to  a  second 
reading  in  July  last,  and  which  was  compulsory  in  its  provisions, 
has  been  withdrawn  during  the  present  session  of  Parliament, 
and  that  a  new  bill  has  been  introduced  which  is  merely  permis- 
sive. 

The  following  report  of  the  debate  which  took  place  on  the  llth 
of  March,  1864,  on  the  bill  thus  substituted,  appears  in  the  Eng- 
lish newspapers : 

WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES  (METRIC  SYSTEM)  BILL. 

Mr.  W.  Ewart,  in  moving  the  second  reading  of  this  bill,  said  it  was  a 
permissive  bill,  for  the  introduction  into  this  country  of  the  metric  system 
of  weights  and  measures,  which  had  met  with  universal  approbation  on  the 
continent  of  Europe.  He  called  attention  to  a  resolution  which  had  been 
adopted  at  the  Congress  of  Berlin,  in  favor  of  the  principle,  and  also  to  reso- 
lutions adopted  in  its  favor  at  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  at 
Newcastle,  and  in  Chambers  of  Commerce  throughout  the  country.  There 
were  many  professions  and  trades  which  would  be  glad  to  use  a  metric 
system.  It  would  be  a  great  advantage  to  English  watchmakers.  It  was 
also  shown  to  the  select  committee  that  civil  engineers  would  greatly  benefit 
by  the  introduction  of  the  system.  Chemists  acknowledged  the  advantage  of 
the  system,  and  said  that  when  it  came  into  operation,  the  pharmacopoeia 
would  probably  be  founded  upon  it.  A  great  number  of  architects  also 
petitioned  the  house  for  a  measure  of  this  nature;  and  as  regarded  our 
export  trade  in  coal,  the  system  would  be  of  great  utility.  Indeed,  there 
could  be  no  doubt  that  in  all  international  transactions  in  trade  and  com- 
merce, the  advantages  of  this  system  would  be  unquestionable.  He  trusted 
that  after  a  few  years'  experience  of  it,  the  measure  would  be  converted 
from  a  permissive  into  a  compulsory  one. 

Mr.  Locke,  in  seconding  the  motion,  said  the  present  system  of  weights 
and  measures  was  most  defective.  Having  read  the  report  of  the  select 
17 


130 

committee,  he  was  satisfied  that  under  the  existing  system  a  great  injustice 
was  done  to  the  working  classes,  in  their  small  dealings.  There  was  no 
analogy,  as  in  France,  between  our  coinage  and  our  weights  and  measures, 
the  consequence  being  that  these  classes,  when  they  came  to  buy  a  small 
quantity  of  an  article,  found  no  equivalent  for  it  in  English  money,  and  had 
to  pay  more  than  they  ought.  It  would  therefore  be  a  great  advantage  to 
the  labouring  population  if  they  had  coins  to  pay  for  the  smallest  quantity 
of  any  articles  they  might  stand  in  need  of.  If  parties  found  that  under 
such  a  system  their  dealings  became  more  distinct  and  accurate,  they  would, 
for  their  own  interests,  readily  put  it  into  practice.  Nothing  could  be  more 
intricate  or  detestable  than  the  tables  of  weights  and  measures  which  they 
had  to  learn  in  their  youth.  He  undertook  to  say  that  scarcely  one  member 
of  that  House  could  repeat  his  tables.  (Laughter.)  The  French  system  was 
extremely  simple.  It  appeared  from  returns  which  he  had  moved  for,  that 
thousands  of  tradesmen  were  annually  fined  for  using  false  weights  and 
measures.  In  cases  where  there  was  the  smallest  deviation,  though  it  might 
not  be  intentional  or  for  the  purpose  of  committing  a  fraud,  the  magistrate 
had  no  option  but  to  impose  a  fine.  This  was  a  great  grievance,  and 
especially  when  it  might  appear  that  the  test  applied  was  erroneous.  He 
believed  that  if  this  bill  came  into  operation,  a  decimal  system  of  coinage 
must  necessarily  follow,  and  then  this  country  would  be  placed  in  this  matter 
in  a  position  perhaps  more  philosophically  right,  but  certainly  more  consis- 
tent with  common  sense  than  it  was  at  present.  (Hear,  hear.) 

Mr.  M.  Gibson  had  no  doubt  the  decimalization  of  the  coinage  and 
weights  and  measures  would  be  productive  of  considerable  advantage  to  the 
working  classes.  With  regard  to  weights  and  measures,  he  apprehended 
that  it  might  be  done  by  order  in  council,  or  even  by  persons  individually 
without  any  authority  at  all.  The  decimalization  of  the  coinage  was  of 
course  a  question  for  the  Executive.  At  present  there  were  two  standards — 
the  yard,  and  the  weight  by  avoirdupois — which  regulated  all  our  weights 
and  measures,  but  if  the  honorable  gentleman's  bill  passed  there  would  be 
three  national  standards.  The  bill  provided  that  the  new  weights  and  mea- 
sures should  be  sent  to  about  700  places,  but  he  did  not  think  that  that  was 
a  duty  which  the  board  of  trade  would  be  prepared  to  undertake,  especially 
as  at  present  those  places  provided  weights  and  measures  for  themselves. 
He  should  not  oppose  the  introduction  of  a  permissive  bill,  but  he  must 
very  carefully  guard  himself  against  agreeing  to  the  clauses  contained  in  the 
bill.  He  hoped  that  the  honorable  member  who  introduced  the  bill  would 
be  satisfied  if  he  got  the  legal  use  of  the  metric  system  without  pressing  the 
matter  further. 

Mr.  Henley  said  that  if  this  system  were  introduced  the  poorer  classes 
would  be  defrauded  if  one  person  sold  by  the  metric  system  and  another  by 
the  pound. 


131 

Mr.  Adderley  considered  that  the  bill  would  be  of  essential  importance  to 
international  commerce.  The  bill  would  secure  uniformity  and  (simplicity, 
and  nothing  could  be  said  against  it  except  the  difficulty  of  introducing  the 
principle.  If  its  introduction  were  impossible  they  should  dismiss  the  bill 
at  once.  If  possible  it  should  receive  every  attention  from  the  Government. 

Mr.  Walter  said  he  hoped  he  should  not  be  thought  guilty  of  presumption 
when  he  said  that  he  intended  to  divide  the  House  on  this  bill.  He  objected 
to  the  bill  partly  because  it  was  a  permissive  bill,  although  he  should  object 
to  it  more  strongly  if  it  were  compulsory.  But  he  entertained  a  stronger 
and  more  substantial  objection  to  the  measure.  It  was  a  revolutionary  mea- 
sure. It  interfered  with  the  present  system  of  weights  and  measures,  and 
it  introduced  a  foreign  nomenclature,  to  which  he  was  sure  the  poor  would 
have  a  great  disgust.  Why  not  keep  to  the  existing  weights  and  measures  ? 
Why  should  we,  because  a  number  of  French  people,  in  a  spirit  the  most 
fanatical,  determined  during  the  French  revolution  to  change  everything,  do 
the  same  ?  He  said,  let  us  keep  to  our  own  nomenclature  at  all  events,  and 
with  regard  to  this  bill,  he  for  one  should  not  accept  the  proposal  of  his 
honorable  friend,  that  it  should  be  read  a  second  time,  but  he  moved  that  it 
be  read  a  second  time  that  day  six  months. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Smith,  in  supporting  the  bill,  said  he  had  expected  to  hear  more 
enlightened  views  from  the  honorable  member  for  Berkshire  who  had  just 
sat  down. 

Col.  Sykes,  although  he  approved  of  the  principle  of  the  bill,  did  not 
think  it  would  have  any  practical  effect  unless  the  Government  took  it  up. 

Mr.  Buxton  thought  that  if  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade  did  not 
divide  against  the  bill,  he  should  entirely  adopt  the  principle,  and  seek  to 
work  it  out. 

Col.  Bartelot  did  not  believe  that  the  small  traders  throughout  the  country 
would  accept  the  bill,  while  in  the  agricultural  and  rural  districts  it  would 
be  viewed  with  great  suspicion  and  distrust.  Large  traders  might  be 
induced  to  adopt  it  for  their  own  convenience. 

Mr.  Baines  strongly  advocated  a  uniform  system,  and  pointed  to  many 
countries  in  Europe  where  it  had  been  successfully  introduced.  The  new 
system  was  spreading  over  the  whole  world.  He  regretted  that  the  honor- 
able member  for  Berkshire  (Mr.  Walter),  had  taken  the  course  he  had.  He 
should  have  been  glad  to  see  his  admirable  talents  arrayed  on  the  side  of 
improvement. 

The  House  divided : 

For  the  amendment, 52 

Against  it, 90 

Majority  for  the  bill, 38 

The  bill  was  read  a  second  time,  and  ordered  to  be  committed. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

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